An Infatuated May Movie: Skies Over Gracemeria
by Razgriz89
Summary: War can be fascinating to watch on TV but up close and personal it's a whole different story. Ash and the gang are suddenly pulled right in the middle of a battle between salvation and destruction. Will they turn the tide of war or ride the tide away?
1. Movie 1: Skies Over Gracemeria

_For purposes of the trailer, it will be written in script form. The story itself will be written in normal story format. _

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_Inspired by the popular flight simulation game: "Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation" for the Xbox 360…_

**Ash: **Brock, we've passed this huge tree like ten times already. Are we there yet?

**Brock: **We just entered this huge natural Pokemon reserve. We're not even supposed to be here; it's a restricted area.

**Ash: **We would already be there if you weren't such a slowpoke in taking a bath, May.

**May: **I told you a million times, Ash! A Pokemon coordinator must be very attractive and presentable. It says right here in this month's issue of Coordinator Monthly.

**Ash: **Does it take you two full hours to be attractive and presentable? I highly doubt it.

**May: **You know what your problem is, Ash Ketchum?! You don't even make good grooming a daily habit of yours!

**Dawn: **Okay you two, break it up! It's one thing to be attractive and presentable but it's another thing to argue over such a simple problem.

**Ash and May: **Hmph…!

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**Old Man: **Beware; a terrible danger shall befall this place. Leave this place immediately.

**Dawn: **A terrible danger…?

**Ash: **I came here to fight, old man. I won't run away.

**Dawn: **Ash, what if he's right? I have a bad feeling about this.

**Old Man: **I have given you a warning. Your decision will lead you to an undesirable fate.

---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---

**Unidentified Transmission: **Attention, all civilians. Gracemeria will be ours for the taking.

**May: **Guys, what's going on? Why are there explosions everywhere?

**GAB Control Tower: **All hands to battle stations! Gracemeria is under attack by unidentified aircraft!

_Lightning and Sword Fan Fiction productions proudly present…_

**Mikhail: **Terry, watch your six! Missile, break…!

**Terry: **Damn! I'm hit!

**Mikhail: **Terry, get out of there! Eject, damn it!

**Terry: **I can't. The darn thing's stuck! Just continue with the mission. I'll be okay.

_A fateful encounter…_

**May: **Terry? Is that you, Terry?

**Terry: **Why are you eager to know what even happened to me?

**May: **So this is what you've been doing…a Pokemon Ranger. Why didn't you tell us?

**Terry: **You all thought that I was too weak to even start my journey. Well here I am now proving all of you wrong.

**May: **Terry…

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**Professor Rowan: **You must leave Gracemeria at once. Get away from here as far as you can; I don't care where you go.

**Ash: **Professor, I can't leave! I don't really want to be a hero but I can't stand innocent lives at risk.

**Brock: **Ash, do you realize what you're saying?

**Ash: **Innocent lives are at stake here and I want to do my part to save them.

**Professor Rowan: **I hope you're happy, young man. Now those Genesis thugs will be coming after you too.

_A homeland under siege…_

**AWACS Dragonite: **Attention, all allied aircraft: Central Command has ordered the withdrawal of all allied forces from the airspace. Head due west and rendezvous with the aircraft carrier Latios.

**Mikhail: **Don't give me that crap, AWACS! Where are we supposed to go now?

**Terry: **We have to withdraw, Mikhail. Orders are orders.

**Mikhail: **Damn it!

**Ash: **I'm not going to run away! And I'm not planning to.

**Terry: **Don't be an idiot, kid. You're signing your death warrant with that—

**Ash: **Terry, look out! A missile's headed your way!

**Terry: **Damn it, kid! Stop being a hero!

_…and an important treasure lost._

**May: **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH…!

**Terry: **DAMN IT!

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**AWACS Dragonite: **Stardust squadron, you are in violation of a direct order! Gracemeria is LOST!

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**May: **What were you doing back there?! Why didn't you save him?! WHY?!

**Terry: ** For goodness sake, May, THIS IS WAR! This is not some mock battle I'm risking my life for! He knew the risks and he insisted.

**May: **They were right about you…you ARE a weakling.

**Terry: **I dare you to say that again. I won't have second thoughts about beating you up.

**May: **Then let me make it clear for your ears: YOU'RE THE MOST PATHETIC PERSON I'VE EVER KNOWN!

**Terry: **You don't know how it feels to lose your home!

**May: **You don't know how it feels to lose the one you love!

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**Admiral Hayden: **We rangers live by a certain code of honor and conduct. Being a hero is not about dying for something…but also living for everything you cherish. It's not the easy way…but it's the right way.

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**Mikhail: **I don't mean to sound traitorous to you but…your cousin's right.

**Terry: **What do you mean?

**Mikhail: **It's hard to lose a home to return to. But it's even harder to lose somebody you cherish the most.

**Terry: **I never received the respect I deserved back then. That's why I ditched them for seven years.

**Mikhail: **You should go talk to her. I'm sure she'll forgive you.

_This March, the power of love will take flight._

**May: **I'm going after Ash. I'm sure he's still alive.

**Dawn: **I won't let you get in the boat, May…not on my watch.

**May: **I'm sorry, Dawn. Glaceon, use Ice Beam on Dawn.

**Dawn: **Who…are you…? Y-You're not the May I know…

---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---

**AWACS Dragonite: **Okay guys, it's time to rock and roll. Let's get Gracemeria back or die trying!

**Mikhail: **Just like old times, eh Terry?

**Terry: **Come on! We've got a home to save.

---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---

**Genesis Leader: **What do you intend to do to me, Rowan? Hide behind your research lab like you always do…?

**Professor Rowan: **I'm going to do what I should have done ages ago. I'm going to put you under arrest for your destructive crimes.

**Genesis Leader: **You don't have the guts to take me down. You come closer to me and I'll blow this plane up sky high.

**Professor Rowan: **Bring it on.

**May: **Professor Rowan…!

**Professor Rowan: **It was nice knowing you all. See you later.

---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---

**Pokemon Powerhouse Cast: **Ash Ketchum, May Maple, Brock Slate, Dawn Berlitz, and Professor Rowan

**Non-Pokemon Powerhouse Cast: **Terry Maple, Mikhail Katarin, Admiral John Hayden, and the Genesis Leader

_Two people are going to prove that being a hero…is not about dying…but also surviving._

"**An Infatuated May First Movie: Skies over Gracemeria"**

**Release Date: **March 2009


	2. Scenario 01

_Gracemeria City—a paradise located at the southern seaboard of the Nakurei Region. It holds a natural wonder beyond anything ever imagined: a natural sanctuary filled with tall trees and lush evergreens for Pokemon alike under the protection of the Pokemon Rangers. One fateful day, a mysterious evil appeared off the coast of Gracemeria and attacked the protectors of the garden. A day before that fateful day, four unsuspecting Pokemon trainers arrived at the city for a Pokemon contest. The inevitable has happened—two sets of events crossing paths at the dawn of judgment. _

_Lightning and Sword Fan Fiction Productions proudly present…_

"**An Infatuated May 1****st**** Movie: Skies over Gracemeria"**

_Inspired by the flight simulation game: "Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation"._

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**---0---0--- SCENARIO 01 ---0---0---**

In the southern seaboard of the small but nature-rich Nakurei Region, there stands a wealthy city surrounded by forests and other natural wonders. Overseeing the vast blue ocean is the frontier city of Gracemeria—one of the most beautiful cities in the Pokemon world. Just a few minutes away from the center of the city an untouched and unscathed paradise stands; abundant with common and rare Pokemon alike. Tall trees and lush evergreens fill much of this natural reserve and the city's backyard. At the western edge of the reserve stand two long runways and a bunch of buildings lining up the runways—the Pokemon Ranger Nakurei Central Command in Gracemeria. It is the rangers' sworn duty to protect the reserve from the emissaries of greed and corruption—those who would do anything just for their selfish desire.

At the northern boundaries of the reserve, four Pokemon trainers make their way inside the vast garden in hopes of reaching the city for a Pokemon contest—May Maple's Pokemon contest and 16th contest ribbon in total. Unfortunately, it seemed like cruel fate was toying with them.

"Brock, we've passed this huge tree like ten times already." A capped trainer by the name of Ash Ketchum said. "Are we there yet?"

"Hardly…" Replied Brock; a squinty-eyed breeder. "We just entered this huge natural Pokemon reserve. We're not even supposed to be here; it's a restricted area."

"Well, we don't have much of a choice anyway. The ferry left us."

"Judging by our distance from Gracemeria City, we should be out of the forest two to three days from now."

A certain brunette coordinator pushed Ash aside and approached the navigator of the party.

"WHAAAAAT…?" May Maple shrieked in total nervousness. "I need to get to the city as soon as possible. The contest starts after lunch."

"We would already be there if you weren't such a slowpoke in taking a bath, May." Ash pointed out the reason for their delay.

"I told you a million times, Ash! A Pokemon coordinator must be very attractive and presentable." The brunette coordinator took out a magazine from her belt bag; particularly with her as the cover. "It says right here in this month's issue of Coordinator Monthly."

"Does it take you two full hours to be attractive and presentable? I highly doubt it."

"You know what your problem is, Ash Ketchum?! You don't even make good grooming a daily habit of yours!"

"I'm a trainer. I'll get all gritty anyway. Besides, I'm wearing a cap."

"Oh sure, and I'm wearing a bandana."

Another girl, matching blue hair and sapphire eyes, mediated the argument before it got even worse.

"Okay you two, break it up!" Her name is Dawn Berlitz. "It's one thing to be attractive and presentable but it's another thing to argue over such a simple problem."

The argument lasted at least a few minutes until the time a gritty old hermit appeared. Heck, he wasn't just gritty and old but weak from hunger and exhaustion. He could barely walk another mile with worn-out clothes and a pair of wooden slippers. As soon as he collapsed from fatigue, the gang rushed to his aid. Brock was no physician but all he needed was to feed the old hermit with something. Some rest and Ash's sandwich later, the old hermit was back on his feet.

"Brock, I was saving that sandwich for later." Ash gave the breeder a stern look.

"Cool it, Ash!" May said. "You see an old man about to die of hunger and all you can think right now is your stomach?"

"But that was my sandwich."

"Geez, you're hopeless."

Dawn took this opportunity to ask the old man for directions.

"Pardon me, mister, but do you happen to know a way to the city?" She asked nicely.

The old man raised his pointing finger and pointed at a dirt road not far from where he stood. "Take the forest road. It will lead you to the city."

"Well, at least we're not lost. Would you like to come with us?"

But as soon as Dawn turned her attention back to the old man, he suddenly disappeared as if he wasn't there in the first place.

"Hey, where did the old man go?" Brock asked out of curiosity.

"Beats me…" Dawn replied. "By the time I turned around, he was already gone."

"At least we got directions. Let's get moving."

They made their way through the trees and bushes and stepped foot on a long dirt road that looked like a forest clearing. From there, it was a bus ride to Gracemeria City…and May's 16th ribbon.

---0---

Meanwhile, things suddenly became hectic in the airfield on the western edge of the reserve. Two aircraft took off from the two vast tarmacs and took to the skies; heading due east. The aircraft were shaped like triangles from the tip of the plane down to the thrusters. The planes passed over the endless horizon of trees and the old forest road which was visible even from fifteen thousand feet. The pilots were briefed of their mission through the radio.

_**This is Central Command. Four unidentified aircraft have been spotted near the eastern seaboard of Gracemeria. If they're hostiles, shoot them down. Just don't let them get near the city limits or the populace will panic. **_

"Talk about bad timing." said one of the pilots. "I wanted to see the Pokemon Contest in the city today."

"Let's wrap this up fast so we can still catch the contest back at base." The other pilot replied.

"IF we ever make it back to base…"

"Hey, have you heard? A two-time grand festival contestant is coming to the city. I hear that she almost won the one in Kanto."

"Really…? I hope she's skilled enough to take on the grand festival here. It's supposedly the toughest in the world."

"I'll bet a quarter of my salary for that, Terry."

"Again with the gamble…you haven't changed a bit in seven years, Mikhail."

_**Cut the chatter, you two. You're almost at the operational airspace. **_

"Heads up, Terry; I have a visual on the bogeys. They're the same from last time."

"I see them too. Let's make this quick."

"Roger that. Stardust 2, engaging…"

"Stardust 1, engaging…"

Before engaging the enemy, one of the pilots named Terry looked at a picture taped at the right side of the cockpit. Oddly enough, it was a picture of May; winking and flashing a peace sign.

"I hope you're doing well, May. Wherever you are…"

The two planes eventually battled the four bogeys many miles off the eastern coast. Nobody knows about this air battle…not even Ash and company. But a certain encounter will propel them forward and eventually in the middle of an unsung war.


	3. Scenario 02

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 02 ---0---0---**

Three solid hours later, the bus finally reached the city of Gracemeria on the southern seaboard of the peninsula. The bus eventually stopped in front of the Pokemon Center and, luckily, it was right next to the Pokemon contest hall. May quickly jumped over the last step of the bus and ran towards the contest hall faster than the speed of light. Her running even left a trail of dusty smoke along her path. Ash and the others soon followed but they went to the contest hall in a more orderly fashion.

"Wow, I've never seen her so worked up about a local contest before." Dawn said.

"Who hasn't?" Brock replied. "May's always eager even if it is just a small-scale contest…which reminds me, aren't you going to sign up?"

Upon hearing those words, the sunny sunshiny Dawn everybody knew suddenly became gloomy on a rainy day. She walked to the nearest corner of the hall and there she sulked to her heart's desire. Sulking and sulking and sulking…

"Was it something I said?" Brock asked himself.

Ash whispered a few words into Brock's ear which made the latter realize his mistake. It seemed that Dawn never made it to the registration on time back at Rosario City…and it was imperative in the Nakurei Region that coordinators should register in the border cities before competing in any of the Pokemon contests across the region.

"Oh I see…I forgot about that." The breeder apologized. "Sorry Dawn."

Despite the odds, May was able to sign up for the Gracemeria City Pokemon Contest with just enough time left for the gang to grab some lunch before the contest…and contradictory to what Dawn said a while ago, this is the biggest contest in the region where one can use three Pokemon; one for the qualifying, elimination, and final rounds.

"That was too close for comfort." She said.

"So, which Pokemon did you sign up?" Ash asked. "I heard that you are entitled to three Pokemon."

"I'm going with the usual but it's Chikorita and me in the finals." May replied; overflowing with confidence.

"Chikorita…? But you just caught that!"

"It will be good experience for the cute little fellow. Isn't that right, Chikorita?"

The leaf Pokemon hopped aboard May's shoulder and cuddled her face. She had her share of losses during her first few days as a Pokemon coordinator but she was confident that she was going to win this one—the biggest regular contest in the region.

---0---

Having eliminated the threat off the eastern coast of the peninsula, the two delta planes pulled out from the airspace and flew back to the airbase. They don't consider coming home alive as a lucky break but sadly it's their job—their deadly job.

"You're going to kill yourself with those mad stunts of yours, Mikhail." Terry said over the radio. "I almost shot you down."

"I can't help it." Mikhail replied. "They were on my six."

"Besides, you still owe me a new DVD player."

"Aw come on, that thing was rickety old. Can't I just treat you to lunch or something cheaper?"

"No!"

An hour later, the two planes made it back safely to base…unaware of an approaching danger coming from the south in the form of a huge flying wing armed with weapons of war from top to bottom; heading dead straight for the city. It seemed as if today's skirmish was nothing more but a warning of something bigger coming their way.

---0---

The Pokemon contest was about to start. The registered contestants gathered inside a room backstage to wait for their turn to demonstrate their shock and awe. Of course, this was no ordinary local contest. Just by looking at the stiff competition, May was going to have a hard time getting that ribbon on top of the first place pedestal behind the panel of judges. Normally, she wouldn't feel any pressure when it comes to local contests but this was an exception. For starters, her opponents didn't look like novices. Most of them even have two or three regional ribbons already. Immediately, May felt like the odd one out.

_"(No! Stay focused, May. You can do this. You can do this. Just take a deep breath…and take the plunge.)"_

The contest hall was packed with people. Ash, Dawn, and Brock were watching from the lower box where it was closest to the contest ring. The contest was about to start—and May was first in line for the preliminary round.

"Munchlax, it's time to come out and play!" The brunette coordinator sent out her first Pokemon then threw two huge ice balls in the air. "Let's start off with Solar Beam!"

Unfortunately, Munchlax belayed the order as soon as the Pokemon sensed something in the air…and it wasn't the smell of a fourteen-course buffet.

"Munchlax, what's wrong?" May asked.

She got her question answered by a mysterious voice echoing across the hall.

_**"Attention, all civilians. Gracemeria will be ours for the taking."**_

"What? What's going on?" Dawn demanded answers from her two seatmates.

Then, the crowd heard several loud explosions outside the contest hall as if a bombing run was taking place. The siren of an air raid bellowed across the city followed by the sounds of car alarms going off. Eventually, the contest hall was rocked by the aftershock of the exploding ordinance. Security rushed in to quell the public panic and lead them to a safe hiding place.

"Everyone please calm down and proceed to the subterranean bunkers in an orderly fashion." That was supposed to be the plan but the people inside rushed in the bunkers with a bit of pushing and pulling action between them. Ash, Dawn, and Brock met up with May at the contest ring before proceeding to the bunkers.

"Guys, what's going on?" May asked. "Why are there explosions everywhere?"

"We'll find out later." Brock replied. "Right now, we need to get to safety."


	4. Scenario 03

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 03 ---0---0---**

All hell breaks loose not only within the city limits but also in the Pokemon Ranger Central Command. Every pilot was called to action to repel the air raid currently taking place in the city. They didn't get the chance to know what they were up against. The loud siren bellowed across the tarmac and the repetition of the emergency was getting more and more annoying.

_**"All hands to battle stations! Gracemeria is under attack by unidentified aircraft! I repeat: Gracemeria is under attack by unidentified aircraft! Scramble all planes! Scramble all planes!"**_

"What just happened? We just came back from an interception mission." Mikhail said; running across the tarmac with his wingman Terry.

"I don't know the details. But I can tell this is no ordinary air raid." Terry replied. "We need to get up in the air and fast."

"Aw man…and that brunette coordinator on TV looks like my type."

"This is not the time to be talking about my cousin, Mikhail."

After the last delta fighter was finally airborne, the interception force comprising all thirty delta fighters garrisoned in the airbase hurried to the city airspace. Their timely rescue could save thousands of innocent souls—not to mention Ash and friends who are currently on their way to the underground bunkers for protection against the explosive ordinance raining down from the sky.

_**"This is Central Command, listen up. Radar is picking up at least fifty elements of unidentified aircraft conducting bombing runs particularly in the Central Plaza. A massive evacuation is currently taking place so as much as possible try to draw those suckers out of the city and out in the open. Stardust 1, you lead the formation."**_

"Roger that, Command." Terry replied over the radio. "Okay boys, looks like we'll be working overtime today."

"This is Beret Leader. I suggest we split up to cover more of the city." One delta fighter pilot suggested. "I'll take the Vendetta boys and secure the eastern perimeter."

"This is Sword Leader. I'll have my squad and the Aegis squads cover the western perimeter." Another pilot answered.

"Okay then, be careful." Terry said. "The rest of you, follow me to Central Plaza. If possible, try to lure them out of the city."

"Eastern strike force, roger…"

"Western strike force, roger…"

"No dying, okay? Let's move!"

The thirty planes in the sky broke formation in three groups of ten; fanning out and heading straight for their designated perimeters. They caught sight of the burning city up ahead with black dots flying above the city skyline; tossing bombs all over the place. Clearly this was more than an act of war; it was an act of brutality.

---0---

Meanwhile Ash, May, Dawn, and Brock are trying their best to stay alive on the ground and avoid the bombs by hurrying under a pile of rubble or the small roof of a building and proceeding when the cost is clear. The explosions got even louder as soon as they went out of the contest hall and out in the city streets—once filled with busybodies now filled with bomb shrapnel and debris.

"So much for my 16th contest ribbon…" May sighed. "All ruined by a stupid air raid."

"You can get your stupid contest ribbon later, May." Dawn replied. "Right now, we need to get out of here."

"Don't EVER call the Gracemeria Ribbon stupid…or any other ribbon for that matter! Ribbons are very sensitive inanimate objects."

"Ribbons don't have feelings, May. You're contradicting yourself."

"What did you SAY?!"

Brock broke the two girls up. "Maybe you two want to consider the fact that we're trapped and there are bombs being dropped all over the place."

After the two girls have settled their differences in opinion aside, the gang continued to move towards the nearest safe zone. All they saw along the way were battered city streets and burning debris caused by the bombing run. They have no idea why Gracemeria City would suddenly be subjected to an air raid without any reason. Is there even a valid reason for indiscriminate bombing and arson? There was too much carnage to see by young lads like them. They had seen too much.

---0---

"Terry, watch your six!" Mikhail warned his wingman ten thousand feet above the ground. "Missile, break…!"

Terry's plane turned hard left and hard right just to shake off one heat-seeking missile right on his tail. After some consecutive hard turns, the missile broke off from the target and went to a better place—away from Terry's plane and away from the city.

"Whew, that was close." Terry said.

"Seriously, watch your six." Mikhail replied. "I can't keep covering your tail forever."

_**"This is Central Command. Enemy threat level has dropped significantly. Keep it up, you guys."**_

"Let's wrap this up quick." Terry said; gunning down another bogey for his kill record.

It seemed like everybody was coming home alive today. But that proved to be wrong as two bogeys went behind Terry's plane and showered the target with a barrage of shock bullets. By the time he decided to pull out of the dangerous skies it was too late. His delta fighter has been Swiss-cheesed and his engines failed on him; forcing both plane and pilot in a nosedive towards the city street.

"Damn! I'm hit!" Terry yelled.

"Terry, get out of there! Eject, damn it!" Mikhail cried helplessly.

"I can't. The darn thing's stuck!" Terry said. "I'll have to land this thing in that street up ahead."

"Terry!"

"Don't worry, dude. I'll be okay. Just continue with the mission."

"Don't die yet, okay? I still owe you a DVD player."

"I'm glad you finally realized it, Mikhail. Well, wish me luck. I'll see you back at base."

Terry grasped his flight stick very tightly and gradually lowered his altitude until he could hear the screeching sound of the plane's fuselage making contact with battered asphalt chips.

---0---

"Guys, do you hear screeching?" Ash asked his friends.

"I hear it." Dawn answered. "It seems to be getting louder and louder."

"Oh look, there's a plane coming straight at us." May said.

Sure, it took them long enough to realize that but they weren't idiots entirely.

"A PLANE…?" They all screamed simultaneously.

"Get out of the way, you guys!" Terry kicked the cockpit window open and yelled at the four.

Without hesitation, the young lads did get out of the way—just in time for Terry to get out of the cockpit and watched his beloved delta fighter get mixed up in the mixed pile of rubble and steel. His plane finally met its demise as it went up in flames because of a fuel leak that mixed with the fire in the rubble. May saw the face of the man who got out of the plane alive…and even after seven years of disappearing out of the Maple family's sight, she could still recognize him.

"Terry?"


	5. Scenario 04

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 04 ---0---0---**

"Terry?" The brunette coordinator couldn't believe her eyes. "Is that you, Terry?"

"Wait a minute, May. You know this guy?" Dawn asked.

"Know him? It's hard not to recognize that jerk who left me and my family seven years ago."

"Huh? What do you mean? Is he an old friend or something?"

Their short family reunion was cut short when more explosions rocked the cityscape. Despite Terry's fellow fighter pilots in the air, they still needed to get to safety—and fast.

"We'll talk later, May." Terry said. "Follow me, all of you."

While the bombings continued along with explosions on the ground and in the air, Terry rounded up Ash and the gang and began leading them somewhere safe. The city was engulfed in flames and the bombings continued. The proud city of Gracemeria quickly transformed into a blast furnace. But after dodging bomb after bomb and running around the burning city, all the bunkers were already full.

"It looks like I have no choice." Terry said. "You've seen too much for your own good. I'll have to take you guys back to Central Command."

"Central Command…?" May asked. "What is this nonsense, Terry? I want answers!"

"I said we'll talk later, May. Right now, we have to get out of here."

"I am not taking another step until you tell me what's going on!"

"If you really want to know, then you have to stay alive first."

The brunette coordinator sealed her lips unhesitatingly and saved her demand for answers for a latter time. The group made tracks towards the natural reserve where they were safe from the bombing…for now. They ran away from the city as far as possible—away from the air raid, away from explosions, and away from the carnage that is indiscriminate bombing. They climbed up a very tall hill and saw the burning city and the flak bursts above the skyline. Indeed, the young lads have seen too much for their own good.

"Gracemeria…" May said, horrified. "It's burning."

"You're not the only one thinking of the same thing." Ash replied.

"What's going on here, Terry? Why is the city being attacked?"

"May, calm down; I'm sure he has answers."

"I can't calm down. I won't calm down. This is the reason my cousin disappeared for seven years?!"

"Your cousin…?"

---0---

"This is Stardust 2." Mikhail spoke over the radio. "Enemy threat has been averted. The suckers are retreating to the ocean. The city suffered major extensive damage but no civilian casualties have been reported. All delta fighters are accounted for except for one: Terry got shot down during the battle."

_**"Enemy withdrawal confirmed. All planes return to base and standby for next sortie."**_

"Roger that, Command."

One after another, the planes pulled out from the city airspace and flew back to the direction of the airbase. Mikhail passed over the damages to the city caused by the air raid. There was so much smoke he couldn't see the ground clearly. Firefighters spread out across the city to extinguish the fires at the best of their abilities with limited equipment and weary water Pokemon at their disposal. As soon as the planes were out of the city limits, he saw a sign of hope—the red and white smoke from a signal flare coming from a tall hill. It was definitely the smoke from a standard Pokemon Ranger signal flare. It had to be his buddy who thought he didn't make it.

"Come in, Command. I've confirmed a ranger flare just outside Gracemeria. It must be Terry."

_**"Pinpoint the location with a laser. Once we've received the coordinates, we'll send a recovery team immediately."**_

"Roger that, Command."

As instructed, he pinpointed the location of the flare with a laser. A few seconds later, a helicopter took off from the tarmac heading straight for the designated location. Terry was going to make it back home after all…despite the fact that his Swiss-cheesed plane was coming out of his paycheck.

---0---

"Let's take a rest here while we wait for help to arrive." Terry said as they all sat down on top of the hill. May was giving him the sternest look she could ever make with her face. Obviously, she didn't like seeing her cousin after disappearing from her sight for seven years. She demanded to know what happened during that long period of time. She even presumed Terry to be dead.

"Now will you answer my question?" May asked. "What exactly happened to you?"

"Why are you eager to know what even happened to me?"

"I wouldn't ask you this if you at least phoned home. We were worried sick for seven years! SEVEN YEARS!"

"It's complicated."

"So this is what you've been doing…a Pokemon Ranger. Why didn't you tell us?"

"You guys disapprove me of becoming one, that's why. You all thought that I was too weak to even start my journey. Well here I am now proving all of you wrong."

"Terry…"

Ash, Dawn, and Brock decided to leave the two alone for some quality family bonding…of course; the scenario didn't look like quality time to them.

"I think we just bumped in a family problem, you guys." Dawn whispered.

"Best not to intervene, I think." Brock replied.

"I never knew one of May's relatives is a Pokemon Ranger." Ash remarked. "To make it even cooler, he's piloting that plane that crashed a while ago."

"What? Now you want to become a Pokemon Ranger too? I bet my skirt for the 'you-won't-make-it' side."

"Dawn's right. Becoming a Pokemon Ranger is serious business…so serious you have to abandon your family and dedicate your life in protecting Pokemon."

"Dawn, I'll pretend I didn't hear that comment of yours."

Thirty minutes later, the helicopter arrived at the extraction point marked by Terry's signal flare. Everybody got on board the helicopter for a one-way ride to Gracemeria Air Base.


	6. Scenario 05

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 05 ---0---0---**

Repairs to the city began immediately as soon as the city government declared that the cost is clear. Much of Gracemeria City has been destroyed by the recent indiscriminate bombing made by fifty unidentified aircraft. Their motives for doing such a diabolical thing remained a mystery to them. But on the brighter side of things, no civilian casualties were reported because of the quick action of the security force that led the civilians into several underground bunkers beneath the foundation of the skyline. The city was a total mess from the inside: roads were battered and cratered, buildings were either heavily damaged or completely decimated, and thick black smoke enveloped much of the city like clouds falling from the sky. Intact bombs were carefully brought out of the rubble and dismantled. Gracemeria City was safe…for now.

At the western seaboard of the natural reserve is Gracemeria Air Base—home of the Pokemon Ranger Nakurei Central Command and the only means of self-defense against air raids like the one several hours ago. Two huge runways cover much of the airfield with hangars lining up the tarmac. It was a military base not for the sake of war but for self-defense.

"Welcome to Gracemeria Air Base, everybody…" Terry said.

"Ah! It's huge!" Ash said; bewildered. "It's like straight out from a video game or something."

"I've never seen an airfield this huge before." Brock said. "Are we even welcome here?"

"Just stay close to me and you'll be just fine."

The helicopter landed near a huge building facing the ocean; by far the hugest building in the airbase. They hopped out of the chopper and proceeded inside. The young travelers felt a severe sense of insecurity while walking along the corridors of the huge building. As directed, they stayed very clingy to Terry. After a few minutes of total insecurity, Terry finally led them inside an office—particularly the office of the commander of the airbase. The man almost looked like Professor Rowan—because it is Professor Rowan.

"Ah! It's Professor Rowan!" Dawn shrieked. "What are you doing here?"

"Are you sure?" May replied.

"I'm not mistaken. That thick beard of his and that scary look in his eyes…I'm very positive it's him."

Terry showed a sign of respect to the commander by standing tall followed by a well-deserved salute. "2nd Lieutenant Terry Maple reporting in back from the front, sir…"

"At ease, ranger…" The professor said. "I heard that you were shot down in the city."

"Yes sir, I was."

"Okay, we'll talk about that later. I need to talk to these four first."

---0---

Who would've known that Professor Rowan had such a secret life behind him aside from being a Pokemon professor? Dawn has known Professor Rowan since the start of her journey but he never mentioned this kind of life to the young trainer. Behind his regular life, the professor is overseeing one of the strategic airbases in the world…perhaps the only strategic airbase in the world.

"So it's been a while, Dawn." The professor said. "You haven't aged a bit compared to your friends."

"Yup, it's really you isn't it, Professor Rowan?" Dawn replied.

"I suppose that you're here to ask me about the recent bombing of the city, isn't it?"

"Well, that is part of the reason."

"You've been exposed to too much danger. I guess it's just right to tell you."

Before the professor could start explaining, May excused herself from the group for family matters.

"May I be excused?" She asked. "I need to talk to a certain somebody."

"If it is that important then by all means…" The professor nodded his head.

"Thank you." May grabbed Terry's arm and dragged him outside. "We need to talk, Terry."

May closed the door behind her; leaving her and her long lost cousin alone in the corridor. Obviously, they have a lot to talk about—seven years worth of things to talk about.

---0---

"So…it's been seven years eh?" Terry started. "A lot can definitely happen during that time."

"Terry…everyone thinks that you're dead." May replied. "Why didn't you at least let us know how you're doing?"

"Being a Pokemon Ranger is very serious business. I was so busy I never got the chance to even phone home."

"Yeah right; you can't be THAT busy. It only takes five minutes to make a call to your loved ones."

The words "loved ones" suddenly forced Terry to fall eerily silent—a taboo word. He was, in fact, too silent. It's as if he was waiting for the right time to explode.

"Loved ones, you say?" He muttered.

"Terry?" May replied.

"Do you call people who keep on hindering you in pursuing your lifelong dream 'loved ones'?! Answer me!"

"Terry, they were only trying to protect you—"

"I'm not a kid anymore, May!" An infuriated Terry slammed his fist against the wall. "I'm finally free to do things my way. I've never been so happy."

"Terry…"

"You were still a kid back then, May. You don't know what really happened on that cold and snowy day seven years ago."

Finally, Terry excused himself and left the corridor; leaving the brunette coordinator alone crying. She couldn't believe that seven years of disappearance could result in seven years of uncontrollable anger by her cousin towards the Maple family. She doesn't remember everything that happened seven years ago but at least she remembered how Terry felt at that time.

"Terry…" May sobbed.


	7. Scenario 06

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 06 ---0---0---**

"This must be the work of Genesis." Professor Rowan started his explanation.

"Genesis…?" Ash asked. "Who or what is that?"

"It's an evil underground organization whose motives still remain unclear up to this present day. The Pokemon Rangers stationed here are trained to fly a fighter plane to intercept and destroy anything threatening in the sky. I don't know why they would suddenly attack the city indiscriminately and harmed innocent civilians."

"So they're like Team Rocket, Magma, and Aqua. But how come you know all of this?"

"Believe it or not, young lad, I was a Pokemon Ranger back in my days. My final mission before retiring was to bring the supreme leader of Genesis to justice…but I let him get away because of my weakness. I failed miserably. Several days later, I retired and turned my attention on Pokemon research. I thought that by concentrating on a different field I could forget my failure. But the past kept on calling me back and I simply couldn't resist. That's why I returned here as the commander of this airbase."

"That is so cool. I never thought that you had such a life, professor."

"Well, now you know. Now you know."

"So if the leader's still at large…then it must mean that today's air raid is only the beginning."

"My thoughts exactly…but I can't let you kids get involved even further. You must leave Gracemeria at once."

"But professor, we can't—"

"No buts, Ash. You and your friends must leave Gracemeria at once. Get away from here as far as you can; I don't care where you go."

"Professor, I can't leave! I don't really want to be a hero but I can't stand innocent lives at risk."

"I'm not asking you to help me, lad. I'm asking you to get to safety. What would I tell your parents?"

"I've faced many dangers throughout my journey. I don't plan on backing out on this one."

"Listen here, boy, I just had about enough of your—"

Before the dialogue could spark a fight between trainer and professor, another loud air raid siren echoed across the airbase. Seconds later, Professor Rowan picked up the red phone; directly connecting him to the command post at the top of the building without even dialing for a few seconds.

"What's going on Command?" He asked.

"Commander, we have twelve unidentified aircraft moving at top speed detected just outside HQ." One command post personnel reported. "They're unlike anything we have come across."

"I want all planes airborne. Take them out of the sky."

Suddenly, the building was rocked by explosions caused by bomb ordinances going off upon impact. The hangars were set ablaze and the planes inside them immediately caught fire. The maintenance crew tried to save the planes and get them airborne while keeping the flames at bay and from damaging their only means of retaliation. Even if there were some planes who managed to get up in the air, speed was a different story.

"Damn! These guys are too fast!" Terry said; trying to get a lock on his prey but to no avail. "I can't get a lock."

"Terry, cover me; I'm taking off." His wingman Mikhail was just about to taxi along the tarmac. "I don't want to get shot down on take-off."

"Where've you been? I began thinking if your plane caught fire."

"I was busy helping the mechanics get the planes out of the burning hangars. Sorry I'm late."

"Just get up here you lazy bum."

"Hey, I'm not lazy!"

---0---

Meanwhile, Ash unhesitatingly busted the door open and ran out in the open. Professor Rowan and his friends tried to stop him but it was too late. He was already meters ahead of them. A clueless May entered the quarters after talking to her stubborn cousin and crying for a bit.

"What's going on? Why is Ash running outside?" May asked, a bit worried.

"That idiot…!" Professor Rowan said; frustrated to the bone. "He's going to get himself killed."

"Huh? What's happening? What's this about Ash getting killed?"

"This could get messy. Everybody follow me."

"What…more moving around? I'm getting too tired for this."

---0---

Out in the tarmac, Ash sent out his only Pokemon capable of taking him as high as the planes were flying: his Charizard. He hopped aboard the Pokemon as it spread its wings and took off from the runway—just in time to get away from a random bomb exploding at the point where they took off. His once pain-in-the-neck Pokemon was now working alongside him for better or for worse. Ash saw one of the bombers passing by him.

"Charizard, go after that plane!" He yelled.

Terry looked out the window of his reserve plane's cockpit (his other plane got knocked out of the sky in the last battle) and saw the trainer and the Pokemon going after one high-speed bomber. He was rather impressed by Ash's courage but he found his tactics very unorthodox.

"That's one crazy, brave idiot." He said; turning hard towards the direction of the flying Pokemon. "Mikhail, cover my tail. I'm going after the trainer in the Charizard."

"Hey, weren't you supposed to be covering me?" Mikhail replied over the radio.

"Well you're airborne now so watch your six and follow me closely."

"This is nuts! That trainer's nuts! You're nuts!"

"I'll take that as a compliment, Mikhail. Ha, ha, ha, ha…"

One Flamethrower was all it needed to knock Charizard's prime target out of the sky. The training with its fellow kin was finally paying off.

"That was a nice shot, Charizard. Let's move to the next one." Ash said.

The trainer's friends were watching him closely on different angles in different monitors inside the command post at the top floor of the headquarters building. Sure, the good guys were winning as he and his Charizard took down at least three bogeys with the help of the delta fighters covering his tail. But his friends below couldn't help but feel very uneasy about his decision to fight for justice—the kind of justice that was life-threatening.

"Yup, it looks like he's done it." Brock said. "Once Ash gets into the swing of things, there's no stopping him…not even us."

"That idiot…always getting us involved in dangerous situations like this." Dawn replied stingily.

May was the most affected of them all. "Ash, why are you doing this?"


	8. Scenario 07

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 07 ---0---0---**

The sun sets at the western edge of the peninsula, also the western side of the airbase. A great victory had been won with Ash and his trusted Charizard as the heroes of the day. Just a few hours ago before this victory, the bogeys pulled out of the airspace as soon as their tail was being chased by a Pokemon that knew a wide variety of destructive attacks. A lot of the pilots admired him for his spunk which they came to like it a lot.

Of course, not everybody was happy of what he did.

"Ash, do you realize what you just did?" May said, a bit frustrated.

"Um…I just saved this place from total destruction?" Ash answered.

"It's more than that! You just got us involved in this mess!"

Terry came to the both of them and went to the trainer's side.

"Come on May, cut the boy some slack." He said calmly. "We couldn't have routed the enemy without his help."

"Who asked you?!" May replied. "We're better off leaving this place than fighting strangers from goodness knows where!"

"You were always such a killjoy, May. Learn to chill. Nothing's going to happen to your boyfriend."

"B-B-B-Boyfriend…?" The brunette coordinator's face turned red abruptly. "D-Don't say things like that, Terry!"

"Then why is my cute little cousin blushing like a tomato? Ha, ha, ha, ha…hey everybody, my cousin's in love!"

Everybody at the tarmac laughed out loud as soon as they heard this. Just a few minutes ago, this airstrip was being razed to the ground. Now, everybody was all smiles all over again as if nothing catastrophic ever happened.

"T-Terry, you're such an idiot!" May cried.

---0---

Back inside the commander's quarters, Ash and Professor Rowan stared at each other very seriously. They were staring at each other so seriously; none of Ash's friends wanted to break the two apart. It's as if a very heavy aura was keeping them back and preventing them from intervening. No matter how scary Professor Rowan is when he gets all serious, Ash countered the professor's stare with a grievous stare of his own. Think of it as a staring game—perhaps one of the most serious of the staring games in history.

"How long do they plan on staring at each other?" Dawn let out a big sigh.

"I'd say until one of them blinks." Brock replied.

Finally, a sign of hope—Ash's eyes dried up so much from staring for a couple of minutes; he was forced to shut both his eyes.

"Ha! You blinked!" Professor Rowan said. "I told you: it's a waste of time challenging me to a staring game."

"Darn it! I was so close!" Ash rubbed his eyes chock full of tears.

In a sudden turn of events, the professor whacked the trainer's head with something thick—a thick pile of paperwork inside a folder.

"OW!" The trainer reacted. "What was that for?"

"That's for butting in other people's business." Professor Rowan answered and whacked the trainer in the head a second time.

"OW! Now what…?"

"That's for challenging me in something I'm good at." Professor Rowan whacked Ash a third time—three times the pain.

"OW! What now…?"

"That's for me. I love hitting somebody."

Afterwards, they returned to more pressing matters. The professor knew that those bogeys would be back tomorrow or some other day. He also realized that it was too late for Ash and friends to get out of Gracemeria safely after Ash joined the air battle with his Charizard. As much as he wanted for the kids to leave Gracemeria unharmed, it was too late now.

"I hope you're happy, young man." The professor sat down on his chair. "Now those Genesis thugs will be coming after you too. This is why I wanted all of you to leave this place."

"I don't care if they come after me. Innocent lives are at stake here and I want to do my part to save them." The trainer replied courageously.

"Ash, would you knock it off?" May butted in. "You're just making this worse on our part."

"What do you intend to do right now, young man?" Professor Rowan asked the trainer while putting up the scariest stare he could possibly put up in his face. "This war's going to get even worse from this point on."

"I've been giving it some thought for quite some time now." Ash said. "I want to fight."

His decision was the bewilderment of his friends.

"Ash, do you realize what you're saying?" Brock said. "This job could be the last you'll ever take."

"Brock's right. Try to at least reconsider that decision of yours." Dawn pleaded.

"This isn't just about us, you guys." Ash defended his stand firmly. "May's Pokemon contest was interrupted, the city was indiscriminately attacked, and right now the entire natural reserve which is a sanctuary to both us and Pokemon is now a target. I don't want to just let them have their way."

"Ash…you do realize that this means kissing the dream of becoming a Pokemon master goodbye."

"Ash, are you sure you want to go through with this? We can always return to Gracemeria when it's safe."

"You guys can leave if you want to. I'm not forcing all of you to stay. I'm staying here."

The trainer seemed resolute with his decision. Even as close friends of his, they could do nothing at this point to change his mind. So…if they can't beat him, join him.

"We're not leaving, Ash Ketchum." May said. "I'm not leaving until my Pokemon contest here is finished. We're staying."

"Sorry Ash but you won't be able to survive a day without my cooking." Brock sneered.

"If they're staying, then I might as well do the same." Dawn said. "Besides, we won't be able to leave safely now that you dragged all of us in this mess."

"You guys…" The committed trainer suddenly wept. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Professor Rowan stood up from his chair, a bit delighted, and said: "Come on, young man. We have work to do."


	9. Scenario 08

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 08 ---0---0---**

"I can't afford to put your Pokemon in grave danger." Professor Rowan said. "You'll have to be trained to fly a plane."

"Whatever it takes, professor…" The trainer replied sincerely.

"I'll have Terry teach you at least the basics so you can be battle-ready for the task ahead."

Ash's training began first thing in the morning of the succeeding day. Although he was still sleepy, he forced himself to get up because of a certain Terry blowing an air horn directly at his sensitive ears. Both of them jogged along the length of the tarmac; and when Terry would feel up to it he would have Ash sprint the distance which would make him really, really exhausted. An hour later, he collapsed due to exhaustion right in the middle of the tarmac (don't worry, there are no planes taking off yet).

"Huh? I expected you would be spunkier than this." Terry said. "Is that the best you can do?"

"Don't screw around. I'm just getting warmed up." Ash replied; panting and forcing to stand up.

"That's the spirit! Let's move on to the next one."

The next task was learning to resist gravity. Although the pilots wear G-suits during their sortie, one has to resist the tremendous force of gravity being exerted on his body. For starters, too much of the invisible push can be lethal on the trainee's part. Several pilots have known to pass out during this test because of the forceful push that felt like their internal organs were being squished and churned like butter. Ash was brought to a room where he was strapped on board a small circular cockpit attached to a long shaft which was connected at a revolving pivot.

The trainer has absolutely no idea what's coming next.

"Okay kid, sit tight and hold on to these bars." Terry said; pointing at two bars standing vertically on both sides of the chair. "It's going to be a rough ride."

"Rough ride…? A clueless Ash held on to the bars. "What do you mean?"

The cockpit closed shut without Terry answering the trainer's query. Slowly but surely, the machine began to spin clockwise. As tense minutes pass, the speed increased until Ash was at the point that his mouth and his eyes were being pulled the opposite way. Three minutes later, the machine was at its top speed. Gravity just became three times more powerful than normal. As of this moment, the skin was on the verge of peeling off. His snot moved back up his nose instead of out of the nose.

"What—is—this—thing?" He yelled; a word for every one cycle completed.

"It's a G-force simulator." Terry spoke over the microphone. "That's how much gravity you'll feel once you fly a plane."

"Now you tell me. I feel sick!"

"Just hang in there. Another five minutes and it will be over."

"FIVE MINUTES?"

---0---

"Hey Ash, lunch is ready. Aren't you hungry?" Brock knocked on the door to the bathroom. But all he got for a reply were consecutive sounds of vomiting.

"Forget it, Brock." May said, taking a piece of meatball with her fork. "He got what he wanted…and what he deserved as well."

"I'm sure you didn't mean that way, May."

Dawn tried calling the trainer's attention by calling out one of his favorite foods. "Oh Ash, I have your favorite cheeseburger."

The same induced vomiting was all she got for a reply. Heck, it was louder and more nauseating than the previous one. Dawn let out a big sigh.

"Don't mention anything delicious, Dawn." Brock said. "He's just going to throw it up."

---0---

The first day of training was finally over but more of those days would come; more strenuous hours of sprinting and jogging and more flight simulation sessions. Despite Ash's conviction to fight to defend Gracemeria, his aching body was clearly telling him the complete opposite. He wanted to sleep already but that needed to wait since somebody knocked on the door.

"Ash, are you there? It's me." Dawn's voice (not to mention in a troubled tone) echoed through the door.

"It's open." Ash replied.

Dawn let herself in Ash's room and walked towards the exhausted trainer.

"If it isn't too much for you…" Dawn said. "Can we go on a little walk?"

The trainer knew that he couldn't possibly take another step because of the rough training. Nevertheless, he forced himself to get up for a good friend's sake.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked.

"Oh maybe just a little walk in the forest…if it's not too much for you." Dawn replied.

"Well, let's go then."

Ash and Dawn left the airbase for a little stroll in the nearby forest. As soon as they were a bit far from the base, Dawn finally uncovered the real reason why she wanted to go out with Ash on a little walk in the forest. Like May, she was also concerned about Ash participating in this "war" thing.

"Ash, I'm beginning to worry about you taking part in this 'war' thing." Dawn said out of grief. "Why won't you just leave this kind of work to the rangers?"

"I know I shouldn't be butting in somebody else's business." Ash replied. "But I just can't stand the sight of a burning city. I wanted to do something."

"I know it's hard for you but we all have to admit that we're not cut out for some things."

"I'm sorry if I got you all involved in this. I just…I just want to make a difference. We all only get one chance in life. I don't want to waste that chance."

"Ash…"

Then, Ash decided to assure Dawn by promising that he won't leave them. "Don't worry, I won't leave you guys. That's a promise."

"Ash…that better not be an empty promise, you got that?" Dawn replied.

"Since when did I ever make an empty promise, Dawn?"

"I'll convince May and Brock that everything will be just fine. You just do your thing and don't leave us, okay?"

"I promise."

"Stop making promises, Ash. Just do it!"

Eventually, they turned around and retraced their steps back to the airbase. Suddenly, along their way, they heard the sound of a very familiar man.

"Beware; a terrible danger shall befall this place. Leave this place immediately."

Ash and Dawn turned around and saw the same old man who they fed on their way to Gracemeria City.

"A terrible danger…?" Dawn said. "You must be talking about the recent air raids."

Despite the old man's warning, Ash refused. "Thanks for the warning but I came here to fight, old man. I won't run away."

"Ash, what if he's right? I have a bad feeling about this. Maybe we should do what he says."

"No, I won't run away. I don't want to regret running away."

The old man knew that he couldn't convince the trainer to turn away from danger. Ash seemed very resolute about it. So he just let the trainer be…consequences included.

"So be it." The old man said; standing up and walking the opposite direction. "I have given you a warning. Your decision will lead you to an undesirable fate."


	10. Scenario 09

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 09 ---0---0---**

The very next day, Gracemeria Air Base was disturbed by a very noisy and very annoying air raid siren. The sun hasn't risen yet completely and bombs were being tossed around again. It was almost no different from the air raid a few days ago—the one Ash first participated in with his Charizard. All hell broke loose across the tarmac as planes began taxiing along the runway. Worse, the rangers didn't expect a dawn raid.

"These guys don't know how to quit, do they?" Terry said; making last-minute checks on his cockpit before takeoff. "Now they're bombing us at the break of dawn?"

"It just means that they're serious." Mikhail replied over the radio. "I'm taking off."

As soon as Mikhail's plane was taxiing down the runway for takeoff, a bomb suddenly landed and exploded right next to the plane's tail. It steered out of control but fortunately the pilot was able to eject before it went on an uncontrollable frenzy before slamming into the tree barricade at the end of the tarmac.

"Mikhail, are you okay?" Terry asked over the radio.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I wish I could say the same for my wings." Mikhail replied. "You'll have to take them on alone."

"Maybe I don't have to."

"Oh no—no, no, no, no, and NO; you are NOT taking that kid with you. He's just a trainee."

"Just like how I started, right? This will be good experience for him."

---0---

"Who the heck gave the kid permission to scramble?" Professor Rowan asked.

"It's Lieutenant Maple, sir." A fellow ranger reported. "Apparently, Lieutenant Katarin's plane blew up during taxi and he was in need of a replacement wingman ASAP."

"Ash…?" May was as worried like hell. "He's just starting! What is Terry thinking?!"

"It's too late now, child. All we can do now is pray that they come back alive." Professor Rowan said.

"Ash…Terry…" The brunette coordinator muttered.

---0---

_**"This is AWACS unit codename Dragonite. We'll be providing intelligence support from the sky. Sixteen enemy contacts detected on radar around the airbase. All planes, take them out."**_

A huge plane with a huge revolving radar dish on top flew several feet above the combat airspace. This huge plane would now be providing support by relaying orders from Central Command to the fighters below it. Things just got a lot more complicated for the trainer whose plane was wobbling just because he couldn't keep the shaking flight stick steady. His attacks were missing as well. Terry needed to relay some directions to Ash just to get the hang of it; and it was totally ruining his kill score.

"Kid, I want you to think of your first sortie with your Charizard." Terry said.

"My Charizard…?"

"The way you flew with the Pokemon is almost the same as flying that plane."

The trainer did while he opened himself for an attack or two. Amazingly, the recall worked for him so much; he, a complete newbie, was able to dodge two missiles that were inbound for his plane by turning hard right. Even Terry was surprised himself.

"Whoa, I didn't expect that to work." He said to himself.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha…! I did it!" The trainer said happily. "I did it!"

"Don't celebrate yet, son. Bring down those wings for me."

"Yeah, bring it on!"

He turned around and intercepted the closest enemy plane in sight.

"Keep the plane steady and get as close as possible to the target." Terry said. "Wait for the cursor to turn red before attacking."

Ash pursued his kill by following its movements while getting as close as possible to it. The cursor tracking the enemy's movements changed color from green to red in an instant.

"Terry, the cursor just changed red!" He yelled.

"Press the left red button for a missile…and hurry before you lose a lock on it!" Terry replied.

The trainer pressed the left red button as he was instructed to do. The bottom fuselage of the plane opened up and a missile dropped from it before igniting for launch. The missile stayed on course until it slammed behind the target; engulfing both in a big explosion.

"Sweet kill, kid…!" Terry said. "Now head for the other targets…and watch your six."

"My six…?" Ash replied; wondering.

"It means the tail of your plane. It's the last place you want it hit by something."

---0---

_**"This is AWACS. Gracemeria Air Base is clear of enemy bombers. All planes, mission complete."**_

"It seems like the young lad gets to live another day." Professor Rowan said. "Maybe I underestimated him too much."

"Thank goodness he's still alive." May sighed. "I want a word with that idiot."

Just when they thought that the battle was over and all the planes were accounted for, an even louder siren sounded across the airfield. It seemed that AWACS jumped to conclusions too early.

"Commander, we're picking up something on radar…and it's huge!" One of the command center personnel reported.

An image of the unidentified contact was put on the monitor. Just outside the airbase was a huge flying wing armed with weapons of war to the teeth. This was no ordinary plane but more like a ship in the sky. They never imagined something as huge as this could exist in real life. Heck, they never imagined that a fully-operational plane at this scale would even fly.

"W-W-What is THAT?" Dawn gasped in horror. "Brock, am I dreaming?"

"That…is a plane." Brock said. "Is it?"

"Don't ask me. I'm as shocked as you are!"

"I have a bad feeling about this."

The people in the sky were just as surprised as the people on the ground.

_**"All allied planes, listen up! There's a giant wing just outside the airbase. Central Command has ordered its complete destruction. But be careful; it's armed to the teeth."**_

"Look at the size of that thing, Terry!" Mikhail said over the radio from the command center. "I don't think that's a plane."

"Well, whatever it is, we need to take it out." Terry replied. "Kid, stay close to me. The rest will draw anti-air fire away from the strike team."

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"We'll just hit it with everything you've got."

The next few moments after flying off to engage the mother ship, that's when things went horribly wrong.


	11. Scenario 10

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 10 ---0---0---**

It wasn't long before the sky was filled with huge clouds of smoke and exchanges of gunfire from the opposing sides. The skies above Gracemeria quickly became a battlefield upon the arrival of the enemy mother ship—a huge flying plane armed to the teeth with heavy guns and rocket pods. Compared to a normal fighter plane, it was ten times the size and ten times the monstrosity. Its huge guns were brought to bear; pointing towards Gracemeria Air Base. The heavy guns pounded the airbase shell after shell; decimating everything that stood.

"The base…!" Terry cried. "We need to take out those field guns!"

He tried firing a missile into one of the heavy guns. The missile hit its target dead on but as soon as the thick plume of smoke cleared; the cannons were still in one piece as if it was never hit by anything explosive.

"Not a dent…? Damn it!" Terry said angrily. "What's this thing made of anyway?"

Soon, the tide of battle suddenly shifted in the favor of the bad guys. The airbase has never been so damaged before and the ranger pilots were being picked out of the sky one at a time by a barrage of shock bullets and enemy fighters. Some of them were even lucky to have escaped death by ejecting on time but that was the least of their problems. Eventually, Professor Rowan finally decided to throw in the towel for he couldn't stand the sight of rangers getting hurt.

"Get me Admiral Hayden on the line." Professor Rowan said.

---0---

Half-an-hour later, AWACS received an encrypted transmission from Central Command…and when information is encrypted, it means that the message is high priority. As much as to their disbelief concerning its content, it was a direct order from the top brass.

_**"Incoming message from Central Command; attention, all allied aircraft: Central Command has ordered the withdrawal of all allied forces from the airspace. Head due west and rendezvous with the aircraft carrier Latios."**_

"The Latios…?" Mikhail said over the radio from the control tower. "Don't give me that crap, AWACS! Where are we supposed to go now?"

"We have to withdraw, Mikhail." Terry responded over the radio. "Right now, we are no match for that monstrosity in the sky."

"But what about Gracemeria…?"

"We have to comply. Orders are orders."

"Damn it!" Mikhail clenched his fist and slammed it against the table out of his frustration.

Soon, the airbase has ordered an evacuation of all personnel. One by one, helicopters loaded with the airbase personnel started taking off and flying towards the ocean. The base was lost and so was the city of Gracemeria—which to their surprise was already occupied by the enemy ground forces. Inside the command center, much of the people at work have already left the building. Professor Rowan and the three youngsters were the only ones inside. They were about to leave when all of a sudden May heard Ash's voice over the radio.

"I'm not going to run away! And I'm not planning to." He cried.

"Ash…?" May turned around and replied to the transmission. "No Ash, just comply with the order! Ash…!"

Terry replied in the brunette coordinator's stead. "Don't be an idiot, kid. It's only temporary. We're just going to regroup above the Latios."

"I don't care! I'm going to stop them even if I have to do it myself!" The trainer insisted; turning hard left towards the mother ship.

"Hey kid! Stop acting like a hotshot!" Terry said. "Just comply with the order or I'll shoot you down!"

May was completely traumatized all of a sudden. She dropped the radio handset she was holding a while ago and slowly backed away. All she could do was look at Ash's plane marked by a red ribbon tied on its tail from the monitor. She heard her cousin loud and clear—Terry was going to shoot Ash down if the latter doesn't comply with the retreat order.

"Shoot me down if you want to!" Ash cried. "Let's see if that will bring this place back!"

"You're a pretty stubborn kid." Terry replied calmly. "You're signing your death warrant with that—"

Suddenly, Ash cut his words short upon realizing that an enemy plane just launched a missile bound for Terry's plane. "Terry, look out! A missile's headed your way!"

Terry tried shaking the missile off his tail while Ash burned the jet fuel inside the plane just to take the blow. Of course, Terry tried stopping him from doing such a courageous but stupid act.

"Damn it, kid! Stop being a hero!"

"I'm not being a hero!" Ash yelled over the radio for one last time. "I'M DOING WHAT I THINK IS RIGHT!!!"

The next thing Terry knew; there was a big explosion behind him and the missile that had a lock on him was gone. From the ground, May saw every frame of what happened. She became more shocked than ever—knowing that the explosion involved two elements: a heat-seeking missile…and the delta fighter of her beloved.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH…!"

"DAMN IT!" Terry cried angrily; taking on the mother ship alone. "Why kid, why?!"

_**"Stardust squadron, withdraw from the combat zone immediately. That is an order!"**_

"Screw you, AWACS! I'm going to find that kid! I'm responsible for him!"

_**"Stardust squadron, you are in violation of a direct order! Gracemeria is LOST!"**_

"Damn it! Damn them all!"

Eventually, the professor's group was able to take the last helicopter out of the burning Gracemeria Air Base and Terry was able to pull out of the combat zone (as if he had a choice). For them, they have suffered the greatest defeat in their entire life.

"Ash…you promised…" Dawn was crying. "You promised us."

"Ash…that idiot…why…?" May's crying was even worse compared to Dawn's. "Why…? WHY?"


	12. Scenario 11

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 11 ---0---0---**

_**"This is Admiral John Hayden of the Gracemeria Elite Guard 3**__**rd**__** Naval Defense Force. All allied planes are cleared for landing aboard the flagship Latios. All planes will now be under the command of the Gracemeria Elite Guard. Standby for further orders…"**_

The survivors of a brutal assault gathered above a huge armed floating runway as one by one the fighter planes landed safely on board the pride of the shield of Gracemeria—the aircraft carrier Latios. Escorted and protected by six Aegis-class cruisers, it was an airbase away from an airbase. The survivors from Gracemeria Air Base were considerably far from the peninsula; thinking that both the base and the city has been overrun already by the enemy. Although it was hard for them to lose a home, it was inevitable. They were vastly outgunned and outnumbered by what Professor Rowan calls as "Genesis". The last helicopter that landed on deck was his group. Immediately, they went up to the island tower and met up with the admiral himself—the head honcho of the entire fleet.

"Commander Rowan, I presume." Admiral Hayden extended his hand. "It's been a while, isn't it?"

"You haven't changed a bit, Admiral Hayden." Professor Rowan replied; shaking hands with the admiral. "Please call me 'professor'. I'm no longer a legitimate part of the force."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha…don't take it too seriously. Don't let a miserable failure get you down."

After the last plane had landed aboard the Latios, the admiral did a head count of all the surviving planes. Afterwards, he grieved over the staggering number of losses.

"Ten rangers lost their wings, eh?" He said. "What a pitiful sight."

"You want a pitiful sight?" The professor replied. "Take a look at the city right now. It's literally in shambles."

"I heard that the sister carrier Latias was under attack by the same aircraft several hours ago. But when my fleet got to the scene, the entire fleet had been decimated. We've only managed to rescue a few survivors. Then the attack on Gracemeria happened."

"Don't tell me that…"

"Yup, we're the only hope for Gracemeria now."

"I'm getting too old for this."

---0---

At the lower deck of the ship Brock, May, and Dawn stayed inside a small room with only one window. It wasn't very accommodating but they have no place to go right now. A lot of bad things happened to them: May's Pokemon contest was rudely interrupted; she and his friends were forced to leave Gracemeria; and the most staggering of them all: May lost the boy she loved at fifteen thousand feet for her long lost cousin's safety. Things were never the same after that incident.

"We should've left Gracemeria while we still had the chance." Dawn said. "We should've. But look what happened."

"Why did Ash have to be so stubborn?" Brock said. "How are we supposed to get back on our journey now? We're stuck in a middle of a conflict."

"I don't mean to say this but…you really can't blame him. He wanted to make a difference."

"At what cost, Dawn? You can make a difference even without getting hurt."

"I…I…I just don't know what to say!"

Even in the middle of a debate, May stayed quiet…too quiet for her own good. But everybody knows that she cannot keep quiet forever. Her friends could do nothing to ease her pain—she was the most affected of the three. She should've stopped Ash from getting too involved. Minutes later, Terry entered the room…which he shouldn't have done at this time because his brunette cousin was staring at him heavily.

"I'm sorry about Ash, you guys. I feel very responsible." He said.

"Yeah, you should be!" May snapped. "What were you doing back there?! Pushing daisies…?"

"May, I'm affected as much as you are about this."

"Why didn't you save him? WHY?"

"I tried to stop him. I really tried to. But he didn't listen."

Sadly, May didn't believe a word her cousin said. She still gave her cousin the scariest stare she could ever come up with. That's when Terry finally broke the threshold of his patience and went ballistic on the brunette coordinator.

"For goodness sake, May, THIS IS WAR! This is not some mock battle I'm risking my life for!"

"You could've stopped him, Terry!" May snapped. "You and the professor could've convinced him. Dawn and Brock could've convinced him. I could've convinced him. But NO, you just had to draft him into this stupidity you call war!"

"He knew the risks and he insisted. But let me ask you something, May."

"What?"

"If you're so all that, then why didn't YOU stop him?"

May's reasoning was utterly used against her—a bold move courtesy of the Pokemon Ranger. Suddenly, the argument took a different turn.

"They were right about you…you ARE a weakling." May smirked. "I'm such a klutz I can't believe I just realized that."

At first, Terry couldn't understand where May was getting at. Eventually, she made herself clear.

"May, there's no need for insults." Terry tried containing his anger which he believed to be the root cause for his cousin's reaction. "I know you're upset but—"

"You were always whining about your weakness. It turns out that you're to blame for that." The brunette coordinator began acting like a female villain in a soap opera.

"I dare you to say that again." Terry clenched both his hands. "I won't have second thoughts about beating you up."

"Stop it, both of you!" Dawn tried to intervene. "This is not the time for a cousin-to-cousin rivalry!"

Unfortunately both oppositions neither heeded Dawn's word. It just got worse from this point on.

"Then let me make it clear for your ears: YOU'RE THE MOST PATHETIC PERSON I'VE EVER KNOWN!" May yelled.


	13. Scenario 12

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 12 ---0---0---**

Terry had heard enough out of May. He raised his arms carrying his clenched rock-hard fists and jabbed his cousin's right cheek. Although Terry said he wouldn't hold back, the punch wasn't very serious but it was enough to force May down. He did manage to beat her up but held back at the last second.

"I won't let you go any further, Terry!" Dawn barred the ranger's path; stretching both arms as far as they could. "If you want to hurt May, then you'll have to go through Brock and me."

"Fine by me, I was about to leave anyway." Terry was now the one who was smirking.

"Haven't you had enough? May is badly hurt and you're just making her condition more miserable!"

"In case you haven't noticed, her crying is useless! The inevitable has already happened…and crying won't bring her boyfriend back!"

"Why are you tormenting her? Aren't you supposed to be her cousin?"

"I'm just trying to make her realize the truth and nothing but the truth. That's all."

"Well, save it for another time! May needs some space right now."

Having realized that they haven't fully grasped reality yet, Terry went ballistic a second time. "You don't know how it feels to lose your home!"

All of a sudden, May shoved Dawn out of her way and slapped Terry with her bare right hand. Whatever Terry said just a while ago somehow triggered May to be really, really angry. Terry was surprised, of course. He thought that his cousin was too feeblish to even talk back. He thought wrong.

"You don't know how it feels to lose the one you love!" The brunette coordinator cried before collapsing under pressure.

"May, what's wrong? May…!" Dawn gasped.

"She's unconscious." Brock said. "All that pressure must've tired her."

"Terry, don't just stand there lamenting like a fool! Get a doctor!" Dawn cried.

Feeling a sense of urgency, Terry didn't hesitate to leave the room hurryingly.

---0---

That afternoon, a radio broadcast was transmitted throughout the entire region; originating from a random radio station inside the city of Gracemeria. After the war, the city streets were practically deserted. Most of the buildings were either destroyed or its windows barricaded with wooden planks. The once wealthy city on the southernmost end of the Nakurei region was reduced to a slum area. Some of the buildings, like the radio station mentioned earlier, were the only few buildings still in operation.

_**"We are Genesis. We are the denizens of nature. For centuries humans have abused and corrupted the very sanctity and charity of nature. While nature has provided us with food and shelter, we abused this generosity given to us. Our mission is to save the forests, the Pokemon, and their habitat and protect them from the corrupt hands of the corrupt humans. We shall start here in Gracemeria and in a few years time, a new world order shall be born—a new world order of social equality and a paradise for human and Pokemon alike."**_

Aboard the Latios, Professor Rowan had enough of hearing lies over the radio. He simply turned the radio off and turned his attention to Admiral Hayden.

"What a bunch of lies." The professor said. "Do you call indiscriminate bombing 'saving nature from corruption'?"

"We have to plan our next move carefully." Admiral Hayden replied. "We don't have enough firepower to storm the peninsula."

"Then we'll have to make do with everything we have. Some of us don't want the fact of living the rest of our lives floating in the ocean."

"I think we could secure the aid of the Pokemon trainers and coordinators trapped in the city. We'll let them stir up a riot while we storm the airbase."

"Then you're no different from me."

"What are you talking about?"

The professor told everything about drafting Ash to the fight…only to realize that his stubbornness came at a terrible price. They needed a foolproof plan: one that wouldn't involve any more trainers or coordinators.

"I see." The admiral said. "He's a good lad. Not all people are like him."

"True." The professor replied. "But he was always too full of himself."

"It's only normal, Rowan. Remember, you were once too proud of yourself back in your ranger days."

"I guess that's also true."

---0---

A doctor on board hurried to the room to check up on May. She collapsed under heavy pressure after her fight with Terry; leaving Dawn and Brock extremely worried. Several anxious minutes have passed during the doctor's diagnostic analysis before the complete diagnosis was released.

"Severe trauma is affecting her normal body functions." The doctor reported. "Let her rest for a few hours and she'll be fine."

"Thank you, doctor. That's good news…somehow." Dawn let out a sigh of relief.

The doctor excused himself from the room and left. Brock and Dawn would be keeping an eye on a sleeping May for a few hours inside a closed room below the deck of the ship. Their only means of passing the time was playing endless rounds of "Go Feebas" with each other. But after fourteen rounds, Dawn got sick of losing round after round and voted that they play something else.

As soon as they were about to play another game, May finally regained consciousness and slowly opened her eyes. The lights were on; it was already evening when she woke up.

"May, you're finally awake." Dawn said. "For a minute there I thought you were a goner."

"What…what happened?" May asked.

"Well, you went ballistic all of a sudden and collapsed."

"Ballistic…? I…I…oh yeah, where's Terry?"

"Beats me; he never returned after getting a doctor."

May fell silent for a few minutes then started talking again.

"I think you guys deserve to know more about my cousin." May said.


	14. Scenario 13

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 13 ---0---0---**

(May's POV in normal text;_ flashbacks are italicized_)

It all started on a cold and snowy day—the day Terry set out on his very first Pokemon journey. He was all packed up and ready to go. Unfortunately, most of us weren't very happy about his departure. Terry was already several steps away from the gym while the rest of the family stood on the porch. The reason for our unhappiness was plain simple: we didn't want Terry to go.

_"Terry, we don't want you to go." Caroline said. "Why don't you stay with us here? Norman will train you."_

_"I appreciate your generosity but I want to go my own way." Terry replied without turning around. "I just have to."_

_"There's going to be a blizzard soon. You'll catch a cold."_

_"I'll stay at the Pokemon Center until the blizzard subsides. Don't worry, I'll be fine."_

_"Why don't you just stay here then?"_

_"It's because I know you're going to try and stop me from leaving."_

_"But—"_

_"No more, auntie. We're done talking. Goodbye."_

We were really in no position to stop Terry from going on his journey. It was almost every kid's dream to get a Pokemon and go on an adventure to become the best. But my parents had valid reasons to stop him…they weren't just valid enough. I was only three years old back then and we just celebrated Max's first birthday. Back then, I didn't know what was going on between my cousin and my parents. But judging by the looks on their faces when they made eye contact, it wasn't pretty.

By the time I was already ten years old, Mom and Dad decided to tell me what happened between them and Terry. It turned out that he wasn't really my biological cousin after all.

---0---

Terry's parents, both Pokemon researchers, wanted a son but the mother couldn't give birth no matter how hard she tried. So they decided to adopt one at a local orphanage in Azalea Town. It was only several months before I started my journey that I realized that he was adopted and not really my cousin at blood. For years, I kept on referring to him as my cousin. Well, it's not really something to be ashamed of. But for Terry, it was.

Terry loved Pokemon as much as any other trainer did. Of course, I didn't like Pokemon back then (probably because of the Tentacool incident at the beach). He was so eager in becoming a Pokemon trainer as soon as he was ten years old. It wasn't before a few months before his departure that my parents managed to uncover the real reason behind his eagerness to become a Pokemon trainer. Yes, the trainer thing was nothing more but a decoy.

It was a prerequisite for an even bigger goal: becoming a full-time Pokemon Ranger.

My parents and Terry talked about this over dinner. They warned him that the job of a Pokemon Ranger was serious business. It was one of the deadliest jobs in the Pokemon world.

_"Do you have any idea what you are saying, Terry?" A surprised Caroline said. "Being a ranger means any day could be your last."_

_"I know, auntie. I understand the risks involved." Terry replied. "But I want to become a Pokemon Ranger. It's my dream."_

_"There's no such thing as a dangerous dream. Can it be something else other than that?"_

_"I've made my decision. Don't try to stop me."_

When he left the house on a cold and snowy day, that cold and snowy day was the last time we'll be seeing him…because for seven whole years he didn't call home or send letters. You can say that this is a small part of my reason for becoming a Pokemon trainer—to go look for him. Terry's parents couldn't believe it too and started to worry. Eventually, after those seven years, the family finally assumed Terry to be dead because of his deadly job.

You can say that it's partly the family's fault for trying to stop him from pursuing his dream. It was also their fault for treating him like a black Mareep. Some of my relatives never treated Terry like a family member because he was adopted. But his parents would come to the rescue and defend him from these accusations. But what made him despise the Maple family was the family reunion party in Cinnabar Island. My grumpy granddad said this right in front of Terry's face:

_"No matter what you are, you are not a real Maple…and you will NEVER BE!"_

After the reunion party, my granddad passed away (nah, it wasn't karma that killed him). Terry was deeply hurt when he heard of this and decided that the source of the problem should leave for good. My grandfather was right about one thing: Terry was never really a Maple to begin with.

I felt sorry for him but what could I have done back then? I was still a kid. He didn't have to leave. Mom and Dad were just trying to protect him. We were only trying to protect him.

(End of May's POV)

---0---

"That's just sad." Dawn sobbed; blowing her nose with a tissue. "I never realized…the pain he went…through."

"Well, it makes sense. No wonder he wasn't respected and treated as a part of the family." Brock nodded his head.

"Waaaaaah…! I feel sorry for Terry. I think I should go apologize to him."

"Nah, I'm sure he's cool with what you did, Dawn."

"But still…"

May got up from bed and looked out at the only window in the room. The tranquil seas and the twinkling stars somewhat renewed her hope—believing that Ash…was still alive.

_"(Ash…I know you're still alive. I just know it.)"_


	15. Scenario 14

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 14 ---0---0---**

The dark night slowly faded away at the break of dawn. It has been two days since the evil paramilitary organization known as "Genesis" took over their glorious city of Gracemeria. The ships were just standing still in the middle of the ocean—miles away from the peninsula and miles away from their home. As much as they wanted to make a move right now to retake the city and the airbase Admiral Hayden strictly ordered them to standby and wait for further orders. But they just couldn't wait any longer. Four Aegis cruisers recently defected from Admiral Hayden's fleet to retake Gracemeria as soon as the admiral woke up from sleep. By the time he had realized this, they were already a hundred miles away.

The defected Aegis cruisers never returned ever since.

"Those bastards…!" Admiral Hayden slammed his fist on the table. "I told them to wait!"

"It can't be helped." Professor Rowan replied. "The people of Gracemeria are pretty nostalgic."

"Now we really don't have enough firepower to storm Gracemeria. What could three ships and 25 planes possibly do?"

"Battles aren't won in numbers, admiral. It's the strategic thought that counts."

"Well with only a small force under my command, strategic thought is already out of the question."

Suddenly Brock and Dawn showed themselves inside the admiral's quarters; hurrying and panting. They were supposed to knock first but they simply couldn't wait since it was an emergency.

"What's wrong, lads?" The professor asked them. "Is there a problem?"

"May's the problem!" Dawn cried. "She stole a life raft and took off to Gracemeria on her own!"

"WHAT? What happened?"

"It's…it's complicated…"

"Calm down. Take a deep breath and tell us what happened to her."

Dawn eventually calmed herself down and took a deep breath before narrating the night her fellow coordinator acted on her free will.

---0---

(Dawn's POV in normal text; _flashbacks are italicized_)

It all started very early in the morning—around 2:00 AM. I was still very sleepy but I forced myself to get up and help myself to a glass of water in the mess hall. It took me at least five minutes to get there from the room and back. But when I returned after quenching my thirst, May wasn't in her bed anymore. I thought that she went out to get a glass of water too but I started to worry an hour later.

_"Does it take this long to get a glass of water?" Dawn said to herself. "It only took me around ten minutes."_

I decided to wake Brock up because I was starting to worry even more; considering that May hasn't returned from whatever she's doing.

_"Brock, wake up." Dawn shook the sleepyhead lightly. "Come on, sleepyhead."_

_Brock yawned heavily while forcing himself to get up. "Dawn? Do you have any idea what time it is?"_

_"You can sleep later, Brock. May hasn't come back yet."_

_"Come back? From where…?"_

_"I don't know. I'm starting to worry."_

_"Okay, okay, we'll go find her. Let's start with the mess hall. I'm hungry."_

_"I knew you would say that."_

Brock and I began searching for May. There were only a few places inside the ship that she could go to. We started at the mess hall where I quenched my thirst a few minutes ago. But she was nowhere in the mess hall. I also thought that we should've met up somewhere along the way if she was going to the mess hall as well. We checked the other rooms along the way but she wasn't there. We searched the quiet hanger below the deck of the ship but she wasn't there too.

Just as soon as we feared that perhaps she went back to Gracemeria on her own, we found her untying a life raft on top of the flight deck of the ship and doing exactly what we feared.

_"May…!" Dawn cried and somehow she got the brunette coordinator's undivided attention. "Whatever you're trying to do, it ends right here."_

_"Glaceon, I choose you!" May suddenly threw a Pokeball right in front of them. May's Glaceon appeared on the scene; barring Dawn and Brock's way to its trainer._

_"You want to do it the hard way? Okay, I accept your challenge." Dawn sent out her Pokemon capable of ice attacks. "Come on out, Buneary!"_

It was only then I realized that a battle had erupted. In terms of experience in Pokemon battles and the battle experience of the Pokemon in the field, I was on a disadvantage. But I just had to stop May from leaving and acting on her free will. She might end up the same as Ash did. Unfortunately, May was too strong for me—a complete beginner. Her Glaceon made quick work of my Buneary without even getting a single hit from my attacks.

_"Buneary, return…!" Dawn recalled her Pokemon; leaving human intervention as the last resort. "What do you intend to do, May?"_

_"I'm going after Ash. I'm sure he's still alive." May replied. "Please don't try to stop me, you guys. I'll return with him and then leave Gracemeria for good."_

_Dawn ran past Glaceon and barred May's way from getting in the boat. "I can't let you. I won't let you get in the boat, May…not on my watch."_

_The brunette coordinator understood her friend's intention of protecting her from harm. But this is one offer she had to refuse. "I'm sorry, Dawn. You leave me no choice. Glaceon, use Ice Beam on Dawn. Freeze her solid."_

It only took Glaceon one Ice Beam to freeze much of my body but the head. Brock tried to take my place and stop the madness but he was frozen too—this time his entire body was encapsulated in a block of ice. I felt very cold that early morning—trapped inside a block of ice with the cool sea breeze blowing. I began crying as I helplessly watched May get in the boat.

_"Who…are you…? Y-You're not the May I know…" Dawn said; shivering. _

Eventually, she got away in the boat. Then we noticed that some of the outlying ships started moving at the same direction May was heading. Terry saw us trapped in a block of ice and defrosted us with his Quilava. That's when we offered our sincerest apology to her cousin.

_"Terry, we're sorry. We failed to stop May from doing something reckless." Dawn apologized. _

_"It's not your fault, you guys." Terry replied; looking at his cousin on the boat as she went farther and farther away from the ship. _

That's the whole story.

(End of Dawn's POV)


	16. Scenario 15

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 15 ---0---0---**

While a simple commotion stirred up the survivors aboard the Latios, a rugged old man walked along the forest trail. He was headed for his wooden cabin deep in the wilderness—miles away from civilization and miles away from the winds of war. The old man was carrying a basket of leaves and green herbs with him as he entered his cozy cabin. After crushing the herbs and mixing them with water, he tended to a wounded boy he found unconscious recently. The boy was covered in wounds wrapped in clean gauzes and bandages—as if he got caught in a huge explosion and lived to tell the tale.

May's intuition was right: Ash is STILL alive.

The old man carefully unrolled the stained bandages and applied the herbal concoction directly onto the wound. It was a little painful and stingy upon application. The boy budged a bit in response to the stinging sensation. The old man then wrapped the wounds in clean and new bandages. He has been doing this repeatedly for about two days now.

After two days worth of rest, Ash finally opened his eyes and returned to reality.

"Where…where am I?" He asked.

"I warned you not to interfere in this battle." The old man said. "Kids these days…"

"Where…how long have I been—"

"Two days, I'm afraid. Consider yourself lucky, child; not everyone can survive that blast."

"Oh yeah, now I remember. I lost my wings during the fight. What happened to Gracemeria?"

"The city and its protectors are lost. This once peaceful paradise is now under a corrupt rule."

"Genesis…!"

Ash forced himself to get up despite his wounds but the pain was too much for him to handle. He felt pain in almost every part of his body. It seemed like he was going nowhere for a while.

"Do not struggle to move, child. Your wounds are still fresh…but they will heal in time."

"I'm sorry but I can't stay here for too long. My friends need me back at the carrier Latios."

"And how do you expect to fly without wings?"

"I don't care if I need to swim the ocean to get to them. They need me—"

He was rudely interrupted by a cup of hot steaming tea courtesy of the old man who was telling Ash to calm down.

"At least have some tea before you leave." The old man said. "Stress is bad for the body."

As much as the trainer wanted to leave to meet up with his friends (or at least let them know that he's still alive), he chose to cool down over a nice cup of hot tea. He settled himself down on the soft wooden couch while sipping his tea slowly and somewhat enjoying the quiet moment.

---0---

The sea breeze blew lightly from the open windows of the cabin. The sounds of wild Pokemon in the forest were nowhere to be heard. They feared the giant flying wing parked in the former Pokemon Ranger headquarters. The once bustling and beautiful city of Gracemeria was reduced to a slum zone as Genesis henchmen patrolled the streets during curfew. They were authorized to use force the moment they see somebody breaking the law. The streets were messy and ruined but were also clean of civilians. They sealed themselves inside the office buildings or hidden subterranean bunkers throughout the suburbs.

The forests remained unscathed by war including the old man's wooden cabin. They were safe in there…for now.

"Did you know?" The old man said; getting Ash's attention. "This territory has been in dispute for generations…simply because this is a living Eden."

"That explains why they wanted to claim this land for their own." The trainer replied.

"Many centuries ago, this was a flourishing kingdom ruled by a great king. The adjacent kingdoms, jealous of this kingdom's prosperity, attempted to invade Gracemeria. The great king's forces were vastly outnumbered but with the help of the wild Pokemon roaming the forests; they succeeded in driving the invaders away."

"That's so cool."

"I'm sure our heroes will come back for us. A sound of retreat is not a sign of weakness."

"Pardon me for asking but…how did this war start anyway?"

"I am but a humble old man. I have nothing to do with this destruction."

The wounded trainer fell eerily silent afterwards. He didn't ask another question anymore. He didn't even continue persuading the old man to let him go. Ash stayed as silent as a library. Unfortunately, the silence was broken by a disturbing banging on the front door. The old man peeked through the hole in the door before opening. Two men in black uniform were standing on the welcome rug; constantly banging the door.

"This is the Gracemeria police! Open the door immediately!" One of them yelled.

Rather than risking his door being wrecked, he let them in as peaceful as possible. "How may I help you, officers?"

"Your home is located in a restricted area. We'll have to ask you to move to the city."

"I don't believe in such nonsense. My home is the forest."

"Then we'll make you leave through force!" One of the police officers drew out a Pokeball. "Slugma set this house ablaze!"

"I'm afraid I won't let you have it your way." The old man sent out a Pokeball as well. "Vaporeon, I choose you!"

Before they know it, a battle was already underway…and the wounded trainer was caught between the two. Vaporeon had the clear advantage over Slugma but both oppositions knew that type advantage alone won't win them the battle. Fortunately in the end, water will always put out fire—just like what happened at the end of the battle.

"This isn't over, old man. We'll be back!" The two officers scrammed for now.

The old man locked the door and tended to his wounded patient. "This place is not safe anymore. Come with me."


	17. Scenario 16

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 16 ---0---0---**

"Admiral Hayden, we're picking up blimps on the radar. They seem to be heading this way." One of the radar operators aboard the flagship Latios reported.

"Is it the enemy?" The admiral asked in reply.

"They seem to be not transmitting hostile IFFs. Sonar suggests the formation comprises of six ships and ten aircraft."

Several hours after May went on her own back to Gracemeria, the remnants of the Gracemeria Elite Guard picked up a formation of blimps on the radar. They didn't seem to be friendly or hostile but rather neutral. The formation was small but Admiral Hayden's fleet was smaller; considering that four of his vessels defected from the fleet and got destroyed by the enemy in the process. The admiral wanted to give the order to bombard the formation but he wanted to make sure first that that the incoming ships and aircraft weren't hostile.

"Patch me through their communications. I want to see them for myself." The admiral said.

They tried connecting to one of the neutral ships heading their way. An image of a face very familiar to the admiral appeared on the screen. They were somewhat surprised to see that familiar face was still drawing breath…along with a few lucky survivors.

"Aren't you with the Latias fleet?" The admiral inquired. "Task Force Chrysanthemum…?"

"Yes sir, we managed to escape the enemy ambush but weren't able to save the Latias on time." The man on the screen answered. "We're ready to join the fight under your command."

Immediately, joyful cheers filled up not just the bridge but the adjacent ships. For them, they felt that their hope had been renewed—the hope of taking back their beloved homeland.

---0---

Meanwhile, the young brunette coordinator was already close to the island. She couldn't explain it but she could feel Ash's presence nearby by the speed of her heartbeat. But as soon as the coastline came into view, the engine of the boat started acting weird until the boat itself came to a full stop. She was so in a hurry; she forgot to gas up before leaving.

"No! You can't die on me now!" May insisted by restarting the engine but to no avail. "There are no oars on this boat. What should I do?"

She had no other choice but to let the ocean current drift her boat to wherever it pleases. Fortunately, the ocean current was drawing her closer and closer to the mainland. But before setting foot on the sandy coastline, she was welcomed by a horrible sight—the view of a huge plume of black smoke rising in the air. Upon a closer look, she saw steel hulls and fragments floating on the water; some of them still burning. From the looks of things, a battle took place a while ago.

This is what remained of the four ships that broke off from Admiral Hayden.

"What…what happened here?" May said, completely shocked. "Oh, I can't bear to see this."

She let the ocean current bring her to wherever it pleases while looking away from any wreckage she sees. Eventually, she made it to the sandy beaches and ventured inside the forest on foot. The beating of her heart went even faster than before.

"Ash, where are you? I know you're still alive."

---0---

"HACHOO…!" Ash sneezed all of a sudden. "It's so dusty in here."

"I was a Pokemon Ranger once, young lad." The old man started. "I was the angel who could never be shot down. I protected Gracemeria as if my soul depended on it."

"What happened?"

"The skies have no need for an old man like me. Younger angels are now taking to the skies."

"I…see…"

The old man pushed a certain lever upward. Suddenly, the lights went on and there stood a blue plane in front of them. It had swept-back wings, two tail fins at the end, and two smaller wings near the cockpit. Whatever it was, it wasn't a delta fighter but something even cooler.

"What is it?" The trainer asked.

"My precious love…Sapphire May…" The old man replied.

"Sapphire…May…"

"I fell in love with her back in the days of my youth. Now she sits here in this dusty hangar; waiting for a hero to take her to the skies once more."

"Wait a minute, do you want me to fly this—I mean her? But I'm…"

"Make a decision right now, young lad. Do you want to see your friends again?"

The trainer wanted to see his friends again but for some reason: "I don't deserve to fly this—I mean her. I'm not even a hero. I'm just an arrogant showoff."

Having sensed a sense of hopelessness within the trainer's heavy heart, the old man let out a big sigh and grabbed a picture frame on the table nearby. It contained a photograph of the old man during his days as a Pokemon Ranger, in black and white, with his fellow rangers standing in between him.

"Do you know what being a hero is?" The old man asked.

"Um…saving the life of others at the expense of the savior's life?" Ash answered (which sounded correct to him).

"You're wrong."

"Huh? Why?"

"Remember this, young lad. You can't save anybody's lives if you're in the afterlife. Being a hero is all about helping people today to help more people another day."

"Helping people today…to help people another day…?"

"It's something I failed to do back in my days. I beg you, please do what I have failed to do in the past…for me and Sapphire May."

---0---

After hours of scouring the forest for any signs of the trainer, May finally stumbled at the last place she wanted to go: the enemy-occupied Gracemeria Air Base. The huge plane that rained destruction on the land was now standing still on the entirety of the airbase and occupying two of its huge tarmacs. The place was heavily patrolled by guards on the ground and aircraft in the airspace.

"I need to get out of here." May backed up slowly away from the airbase in hopes to make a clean getaway.

Unfortunately, she stepped on something that tickled like a surge of static electricity. Eventually a larger and stronger surge of electricity ran across her body and wreaked havoc at the body of the unsuspecting coordinator.

"What the—AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH…!"

Her bellow was heard by the guards on the ground who immediately rushed to her minutes after the stasis trap was activated. She fell unconscious on the ground.

"Boss, we've got a stowaway outside the base. What should we do with her?" One of the guards reported over the radio.

"Bring her aboard the Ceres." A deep voice replied. "Our guest has arrived."


	18. Scenario 17

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 17 ---0---0---**

"This is not the right place to discuss our counterattack." Admiral Hayden said. "All ships set a course for Lucario Island."

Below the flight deck, Dawn and Brock felt the entire ship turn around. The view outside their window was slowly but surely moving sideways. They could feel the entire vessel rotating at a full 180 degrees; the ship rocking a little during the process. The ship was definitely going somewhere but they couldn't help but ask where.

"Now what's happening?" Dawn said; a bit frustrated. "Haven't we had enough problems already?"

"Are they preparing for an attack already?" Brock said in reply.

"Brock, I don't want to stick around and find out. Let's get out of here."

Dawn quickly grabbed Brock's free arm and dragged him out of the door. Dawn was finally fed up with being a victim of war and wanted to get out of the action as quickly as possible. She was so fed up; she had to storm the carrier bridge and give Professor Rowan and Admiral Hayden a piece of her frustrated mind.

"Professor Rowan, we need to talk!" Dawn yelled; more frustrated than before.

"Admiral, I have an unknown aircraft on radar. It's heading straight for the Latios!" Dawn wasn't expecting a reply from one of the ship's crewmembers. "I have a visual on the blimp."

"Put it on the monitor." The cool-headed admiral said.

An image of the unidentified aircraft appeared on the monitor. It was a blue plane with a pair of wings that were swept-back and two tails at the end of the plane. But it wasn't in good shape; both of its wings were trailing smoke and the entire thing was wavering.

"Sir, I think it's trying to land on the deck."

"I-It's going to crash!" Dawn shrieked.

Admiral Hayden quickly picked up the phone and pressed the number 7: directly connecting him to the flight deck crew below the bridge.

"Flight deck, some nut head is trying to land a smoking plane on the deck!" The admiral exclaimed. "Prepare for emergency landing protocol!"

Immediately, hundreds of men in different colored shirts cleared the flight deck; laying down rows of steel rope along the moving runway. The blue plane was flying lower and lower as it approaches the deck of the carrier. These steel ropes were the only ones standing in the way between the plane making an emergency touchdown and certain doom twenty thousand leagues under the big blue sea. Finally, the blue aircraft touched down on the surface of the deck; the steel ropes catching the plane by the landing gear. But even catching it by the landing gear was not enough to stop the rampaging plane from taking a cool dip.

"It's heading straight for the ocean!" Dawn said. "We have to do something!"

"Calm down, young lass." Professor Rowan advised her. "It's already in the bag."

The speeding plane eventually slowed down and stopped a few inches from the edge of the flight deck. The plane was spared and its landing gear all tangled up by the rows of steel ropes laid down earlier. It stopped precisely a few inches from certain doom; sparing whoever was piloting the plane inside. The canopy slid open and a young trainer emerged from the pilot's seat.

"Is…Is that Ash down there?!" Dawn cried; followed by a trickle of tears.

"No, it's Terry." Brock replied sarcastically.

"It's Ash! It's really him! He's alive! I can't believe it! I…I…"

Because of her overwhelming overexcitement, Dawn fainted on the scene. Brock caught the blue-haired coordinator by the arms before she could hit her head on the floor.

"Whoa, Dawn…!" Brock tried waking his friend up but to no avail.

"What took you so long, lad? Your girlfriend's worried sick…" Professor Rowan smirked; looking at the waving trainer who had come back to life from the dead.

---0---

Dawn was brought to the medical room at the lower deck after collapsing. A few hours of beauty sleep and guaranteed insurance of survivability by the doctor later, the first thing she saw after regaining consciousness was the row of fluorescent lights at the ceiling.

"Where…" Dawn moaned the moment she woke up. "Where…am I?"

"Seriously Dawn, you gave me quite a shock." Ash replied. "Feeling better?"

"The doctor said it was only a case of light fatigue; nothing serious. She'll get over it." Brock said.

"Ash, you don't know how happy I am to see you well."

"Sorry for making you all worry so much."

"Care to tell us what happened to you after the big boom?"

"It's a long story. Don't fall asleep, Dawn."

"Very funny, Ash Ketchum…"

Before Ash could narrate his adventures while isolated from his friends, Terry entered the medical room.

"Terry…!" The trainer said…and was cut-off by the ranger's knuckle sandwich.

"I expect you to never pull off a stunt like that ever again, kid!" Terry yelled angrily. "Thanks to you, my cousin just got kidnapped in ransom…in exchange for Gracemeria!"

"Say WHAT?!" The three Pokemon trainers cried in unison.

---0---

Lucario Island is a Pokemon natural reserve just like the forests of Gracemeria. Survivors from the invasion several days ago settled here and assembled for one final push back in the peninsula. From the island coast they could see the city skyline of Gracemeria towering above the pine trees that covered much of the area. The assault force: 8 Aegis-class anti-air cruisers, 35 delta fighters, one prototype fighter under repair and maintenance, and the command carrier Latios will all be counterattacking at the break of dawn tomorrow as agreed by Admiral Hayden and his officers. They all never felt this close to home sweet home.

They only have one shot at this with two choices at stake: victory or defeat. Then again, they have to do this…for a friend's sake.

"Admiral, we're getting a video message from the enemy mother ship." The communications liaison reported.

"Hmm…they're wasting their time trying to force us into an unconditional surrender." Admiral Hayden said. "But patch it through anyway."

An image of man with red, long hair and a crimson-dyed beard appeared on the monitor.

"Admiral John Hayden, I presume?" The red man spoke on the monitor.

"Genesis…!" The admiral muttered silently.


	19. Scenario 18

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 18 ---0---0---**

"Forget it, Genesis Leader!" The admiral said. "You're wasting your time with that ultimatum of yours. It's Gracemeria or bust!"

"Maybe my very special guest on board will make you change your mind." The red man replied.

"Special guest…?"

Suddenly, the camera quickly panned on a certain brunette coordinator dangling a few feet off the floor with her hands, body, and feet tied tightly to several ropes attached to the ceiling. As soon as this was broadcasted over the monitor Terry and the trainers came inside the bridge and saw the horrific image.

"No, May…!" Ash cried.

"Ash…? You're alive?!" May replied. "Ash, thank heavens…! I knew my intuition won't let me down!"

"May, where are you?! Why did you leave Brock and Dawn?"

"I…wanted to go look for you. I was worried…and sad."

"Darn it! You shouldn't have left, May!"

"What choice did I have? I wanted to see you! What's wrong with that?!"

The camera panned back at the Genesis leader.

"My demands are simple, Admiral Hayden." The leader said. "Lay down your arms and surrender peacefully. I always hold my end of the bargain so I'll let this girl go once you admit defeat."

"Didn't you hear what I just said?" Admiral Hayden replied. "Forget it! Now you let her go!"

"How I wished I wouldn't resort to violence." The Genesis leader drew out four Pokeballs and released them all at once. "Tentacruel, let's go!"

Four Tentacruel emerged from the thrown balls and surrounded the hostage from the ground. Those tentacles of theirs weren't being so very friendly. It was as if they wanted to strike May as hard as they could with the Pokemon's tentacles…and that's what their trainer wanted them to do.

"Okay Tentacruel, you know the drill." The Genesis leader said. "Let her have it."

The next thing everybody saw and heard were two things: (1) the constant and painful volley of whips and lashes; and (2) the agonizing scream of somebody being tortured.

---0---

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH…!" May's painful scream was clearly heard on the loudspeaker back in the carrier. The lashes kept on coming and hurting her.

"May…! STOP IT! I SAID STOP!" Ash cried angrily.

"Tentacruel, stop for the meantime." The leader told his Pokemon and turned his attention on the screen. "A simple 'yes' would suffice, admiral."

"N-no…" May muttered, seriously injured. "Don't…"

"Don't worry, May! I'll get you out of there!" Ash immediately ran for the door but he was held up by Dawn's hand by the collar.

"Oh no you don't, mister…!" Dawn pulled the trainer back in front of her. "You're going to stay here like the rest of us!"

"Let me go, Dawn. May's in trouble!" Ash struggled to break free. "We need to save her."

"That does it! You need a time out!" Dawn sent out one of her Pokeballs. "Pachirisu, Discharge…!"

Pachirisu sent out a huge electric surge throughout the bridge; electrocuting the trainer until he gave up and decided to stay. After all, he had caused enough trouble for one lifetime already. He wasn't going to cause another one again.

"Okay, okay, I give. I won't go out. Just put Pachirisu away." Ash pleaded.

"Finally, some music to my ears…Pachirisu return…" Dawn recalled her Pokemon.

Eventually, they were back to more serious matters. May was being held captive as they speak inside the enemy mother ship with Tentacruel surrounding her for another whipping and lashing. The brunette coordinator was starting to feel the pain all around her body. Another few hits could prove fatal.

"Listen here, buster! We're going to take back Gracemeria from your sorry bunch of pathetic excuses for thugs!" Professor Rowan snapped.

"Professor Rowan, please don't provoke him. May's still in there!" Ash pleaded.

"You just pulled my string, Rowan!" The Genesis leader snapped as well. "Tentacruel, more lashes on that girl!"

Soon, the sound of lashes continued and May was getting hit hard all over.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH…!"

"May…! Darn it, why don't you come down here and fight like a man?!" Terry finally snapped out of his silence.

"T-Terry, don't worry…about me." May's condition was getting worse after the second volley of lashes. "Don't…let him get…what he…wants."

"You be quiet!" The evil leader told his hostage. "Your life is at stake here!"

"You can whip me all you want. That won't…stop me…" May said, severely battered but still able to speak her mind out.

"May…" Terry looked helplessly from the monitor aboard the Latios.

"Are you asking for more, little girl? All you need to do is say 'please'." The leader said.

"What's the matter? Are you…scared?" May smirked.

Now, the red man was more pissed off than before. He ordered a volley of even more painful lashes against his hostage—where the chance of survivability was totally bleak.

"This is bad! May can't possibly another set of lashes!" Brock cried.

"May, hang in there!" Ash cried.

The lashes continued with twice the power and twice the damage. It also meant twice the loudness of the hostage's agonizing scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH…!"

"May…I swear I'll come for you. I promise." Ash muttered.

"Ash…I believe in you…I came for you…now…please come for me…AH—!"

"May…!"

The last lash went a little higher to the back of her head. She was knocked unconscious by one of the Tentacruel. Their trainer ordered them to stop the lashing just to show them that he has some decency in him. A knocked out-cold and critically wounded hostage was now dangling a few feet above the ground.

"Don't worry, Ash. She's just out cold." Brock reassured his friend.

"They're going to pay. I swear." Ash muttered to himself.

The Genesis leader signed out and stayed out of the Latios's communications. Admiral Hayden called his top officers for a situation meeting immediately.

"There has been a change of plans, everyone." Admiral Hayden spoke over the radio. "We attack Gracemeria…TONIGHT!"


	20. Scenario 19

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 19 ---0---0---**

The sun slowly sets in the western horizon; marking the end of another day—the last peaceful day before the big battle. Ash was sitting on top of the flight deck while watching the sun set from the left side of the carrier. He will be participating again in the battle for Gracemeria. As the stars started filling up the dark sky, the trainer's mind was set on rescuing a damsel in distress from an evil overlord garrisoned behind the flying walls of what is known to be the enemy mother ship: the Ceres. A few minutes later, Admiral Hayden joined him in sightseeing.

"Can't rest, lad?" The admiral said. "I know how it feels. Ever since Gracemeria fell, I don't get enough sleep lately."

"I'm worried." The trainer replied. "Maybe I shouldn't have joined in this war."

"It's because of your action that she's in trouble, am I correct?"

"I'm not even sure if this is the right thing to do. Maybe I'm no hero; I'm just pretending to be one."

Admiral Hayden sat down beside Ash and took out a hand-rolled cigar. He lit the tip up with his lighter and blew out smoke from his mouth.

"Listen. We rangers live by a certain code of honor and conduct." The admiral continued. "It's a must for all rangers."

"Code of honor and conduct…?" Ash asked in reply.

"I, too, was like you during my days at the Ranger Academy. I tend to act like a hotshot just to get at least some attention. But then, while I was flipping the pages of my ranger handbook out of boredom, I found some food for thought by accident that completely changed me.

"What is it?"

"It said: Being a hero is not about dying for something…but also living for everything."

"I guess that's true."

"It was hard but it felt good to do something right for a change. It's not the easy way…but it's the right way."

Eventually, Terry joined in the sightseeing as well. By now, the sun would have gone down already.

"Care to join us, lieutenant?" The admiral asked Terry. "It's quite invigorating to see the sunset outside for a change."

"I guess it's for the best." Terry replied and then faced Ash. "Hey Ash, I'm sorry for the sudden knuckle sandwich a while ago. I wasn't myself back then."

"It's no big deal, Terry." Ash said. "It didn't really hurt. We're cool."

---0---

(Terry's POV in normal text; _flashbacks are italicized_)

I did some reflecting on my own the moment May slapped me a few days ago for what I said. I guess it was really wrong for me to use my homeland as an excuse for reprimanding my cousin. After all, communities comprise a city. Mikhail saw me down and demanded that he share my problem with him…not as a fellow pilot but as a friend.

_"I don't mean to sound traitorous to you but…your cousin's right." Mikhail said. "I think it's not right to reprimand her."_

_"What do you mean?" Terry asked in reply._

_"Sure, it's hard to lose a home to return to. I know because my family called and they got left behind. Now they can't get out because of curfew."_

_Terry never said a word. Mikhail continued._

_"But it's even harder to lose somebody you cherish the most."_

_"I never received the respect I deserved back then. That's why I ditched them for seven years."_

_"I'm sure that they just wanted to protect you. You should go talk to her. I'm sure she'll forgive you."_

_"You think so?"_

_"I'll bet you for a new DVD player if she does."_

By the time I was going to talk to her, the news of May's disappearance broke out across the fleet along with the four defected Aegis cruisers. I felt guilty for having reprimanded her. Maybe it's just that I'm so mad at my family; I put all the blame on one person.

(End of POV)

---0---

"No wonder you didn't put in your mother and father's name when I looked at your application form." The admiral laughed.

"Terry, let's go rescue May together." Ash stood up and offered a handshake.

"I guess great minds do think alike." Terry extended his free hand and accepted the offer of a handshake. "Let's do this thing."

"Just by seeing you two, I feel like thirty years younger. Come on; let's get back inside."

Terry and Ash went back inside the bridge with the admiral. Nightfall had already come and the ships were slowly but surely leaving the docks of Lucario Island. Every yeoman suddenly got busy with their role in the upcoming attack. They were preparing the planes for sortie as the view of the city skyline drew near them.

"Admiral, Gracemeria dead ahead…" One of the admiral's officers said.

"We'll proceed as planned, then." Admiral Hayden replied. "Commence Operation: Twilight Freedom."

The counterattack begins.


	21. Scenario 20

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 20 ---0---0---**

(Current events in normal text; _mission briefing events before the attack italicized_)

All was quiet in the Genesis-occupied Gracemeria Air Base. The breeze blew and rustled the leaves of trees and bushes. Nocturnal Pokemon swarmed the forests but in lesser numbers than usual since the attack. The paramilitary organization's guardsmen roamed the entire airstrip in the lookout for unwanted guests. The once proud home of the angels was reduced to a fortress of pure evil. But all of that was about to change with a single explosion.

A formation of ten planes was leading the assault on the airbase with a blue plane with the swept-back wing leading the formation. But Ash wasn't piloting it but Terry instead.

"This is Strike Team Arcanine. Bombing run has commenced. I repeat: bombing run has commenced." The squadron leader Terry reported back to the carrier by radio.

"Continue with the distraction." Admiral Hayden replied. "Package is being prepared and will be delivered ETA 5 minutes."

"There's too much anti-air in here. At this rate, we won't even last five minutes."

"Just keep them distracted. We're working here as fast as we can."

---0---

_"Lieutenant Maple will lead an elite formation of ten planes to act as the distraction for the enemy." Admiral Hayden pointed out during the strategy meeting. "The objective is to keep the enemy busy while we prepare the package."_

_"Package…?" Terry asked. _

_"Apparently, the survivors from the Latias were able to acquire a special kind of warhead that knocks out all electrical systems of the target for a certain amount of time. We're in the midst of preparing it so you'll need to buy us some time before we can deliver the package to the enemy mother ship."_

_"Can't we just prepare the missile without distracting the enemy? They'll notice something amiss when we attack."_

_"We only have one warhead, lieutenant. If it gets shot down then it will all be over for all of us. Your squad will be Strike Team Arcanine."_

_"I understand, sir."_

_"Don't let the enemy mother ship take off from the tarmac. It'll be harder to aim the missile if the target's airborne."_

_"Leave it to us, sir. We can take it."_

_"While you're busy, we'll launch an attack at Gracemeria City and retake the harbor. That way, we can strike the airbase closer."_

---0---

Terry's mission, along with his wingmen, was more of a suicide mission. They were to buy the Latios some time to prepare the warhead that will shift the tide of battle in favor of the good guys. But judging by the sporadic resistance the enemy is putting, he started to doubt that he and his team could last for five minutes.

"Darn it, I'm losing my rhythm. It's just not the same without my wingman." Terry said.

---0---

_"No, Mikhail. I have an assignment for you. You'll have to sit the distraction mission out." Admiral Hayden said. _

_"But sir, I'm Terry's partner. I'm not really good in doing solo flights." Mikhail insisted. _

_"I need you to lead an infiltration team: Strike Team Seviper. We have a hostage situation in our hands and it's up to your team to get her out of there."_

_"Mikhail, just go for it." Terry said. "For my cousin's sake…"_

_Mikhail let out a big sigh; having realized that he had no choice but to take the assignment which meant a temporary separation from his wingman. _

_"Okay, but if I save the day, you'll have to forget that whole DVD player thing. Savvy?" Mikhail said._

_"Aw, alright then…" Terry replied helplessly. _

_"I've sent three ships to take positions off the coast of Gracemeria Air Base. From there, form a strike team and sabotage the grounded mother ship once the package has been delivered. Once your objective is complete, withdraw from the area and retreat to the city. Make sure you get that flying wing down."_

_"I will, sir. We'll handle it."_

_Originally, the trainers weren't part of the plan but they wanted to participate in the operation; considering that one of their good friends was the hostage. _

_"We're coming with you." Ash said. "It's my fault that May got kidnapped. I want to set things right again."_

_"It's too dangerous. I can't guarantee your safety." Mikhail replied._

_"We're not asking you to keep us safe. We're asking you to take us with you. We'll rescue May while you do your thing with the mother ship."_

_Mikhail turned to the admiral for some useful advice. "Admiral, what do you think?"_

_"Even if I tell them to, they can't be stopped." Admiral Hayden replied. "You better take them with you. That's their friend dangling inside the ship."_

---0---

Several miles from the battle above the tarmac, two helicopters were making their way towards the naval fleet's forward position near the airbase. Mikhail and the Pokemon trainers were heading there for phase two of the battle plan. They all realized the dangers of an infiltration mission but they cared less about it.

"You guys are an unbelievable bunch, you know that?" Mikhail said. "You could've let us handle the rescue mission."

"That's true but you know Ash." Dawn giggled. "He leaves no debt unpaid…except for our bicycles."

"Bicycles…?" Mikhail asked in reply.

"I don't think he needs to know about it, Dawn." Ash said.

It has been more than five minutes since the air raid began. Terry was wondering if the admiral sent his team out just to be target practice for flak.

"Arcanine Leader to Latios; where the heck's that package?!" Terry said.

"Keep them busy. We're delivering the package now." Admiral Hayden replied then turned his attention to his crew. "Prepare to deliver the package on the target on Alpha 3. Fire on my command…FIRE!"

A large hatch at the rear end of the carrier opened up. The roaring sound of an ignited rocket echoed throughout the flight deck. Slowly but surely, a huge missile emerged from the hatch and took flight twenty thousand feet in the air the moment it was launched. It was heading in the direction of the occupied airbase at around mach 2.0. This huge pillar of steel would make or break their chances of retaking the city and the entire peninsula.

Should the missile fail, all will be lost—their beloved homeland…and one human soul.


	22. Scenario 21

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 21 ---0---0---**

The missile dashed across the city skyline and the airspace above the lush forests. Its course was set dead for the enemy mother ship in the airbase. Everybody prayed that the missile would hit the target which was now halfway down the tarmac.

"Aim for the landing gears! Don't let it take off!" Terry ordered his wingmen to go after the huge wheels beneath the plane.

Soon, he and his fellow pilots flew as low as the taxiing gargantuan and put everything their planes had in one concentrated attack. Finally, the joints in the landing gear in the front broke and the nose of the mother ship took a steep dive towards the surface of the tarmac. And just in the nick of time, the missile finally arrived at the combat airspace. The missile hit hard on where it hurts the most: the mother ship's main engine and electrical circuit board at the rear center. Slowly but surely the flak-filled sky cleared and the guns that gave Terry and his wingmen a hard time began going offline. The strike was a success.

"Arcanine Leader to Latios Command: package successfully delivered to doorstep." Terry reported over the radio. "I repeat: package successfully delivered to doorstep."

"Roger that, Arcanine Leader; continue with the assault." Admiral Hayden replied. "Seviper Team, the welcome rug has been laid down. I repeat: the welcome rug has been laid down."

"That's a 10-4, Latios Command." Mikhail responded. "We're moving into position to commence phase two."

The Latios along with the main fleet and the rest of the aircraft moved into position to retake the city. Thousands of feet above sea level, the lone AWACS flew above the city skyline while fulfilling its role to support allied aircraft in coordinated attacks. The AWACS and the assault force were the main stars of the show.

_**"Okay guys, it's time to rock and roll. Let's get Gracemeria back or die trying!"**_

Off the coast of the airbase, two helicopters took off from the three ships that were sent by the admiral to take up defensive posts there. Mikhail's team was already being sent to infiltrate the downed wing on the tarmac.

"Just like old times, eh Terry…?" Mikhail said over the radio inside the chopper. "You still haven't lost your touch."

"I never lose my touch, Mikhail." Terry replied. "Now come on! We've got a home to save."

"Don't get all excited and crash, buddy. I still want to try that plane out."

---0---

A shock welcomed the main fleet as soon as they've secured the harbor with little resistance. The once deserted streets were now crawling with people cheering as if they drove the foreign invaders away from their homeland soil. Now that they thought about it, the main fleet met only little resistance when they entered the harbor. One of the rangers reported back to Admiral Hayden with peculiar but great news.

"Apparently, Pokemon trainers and coordinators who were trapped in the city during the invasion staged a revolt against Genesis sir." The ranger reported. "They were successful in driving the enemy out of the city streets. The forces that we met on the harbor must've separated from the main group."

"At least that's a load off our backs." Admiral Hayden replied. "Tell the Chrysanthemum and the Marigold to prepare to reinforce the forward position near the airbase. The rest of the ships will stay here just in case those thugs come back."

Half-an-hour later the Latios took two of the fleet's best anti-air warships: the Chrysanthemum and the Marigold to parley with the forward position off the coast of Gracemeria Air Base. Terry and the others were going to need all the help they can get.

---0---

"This is Echo 5; LZ is hot. I repeat: LZ is hot; unable to deploy." One of the two helicopters reported back to the forward position. "Requesting offshore fire support…"

"This is Aegis cruiser Dahlia. Blockade barrage underway for full effect, over…" One of the vessels in the forward position began firing its batteries. Soon, the two other vessels joined in the blockade barrage to help clear the landing zone…which was cleaned out five minutes later.

"This is Echo 5; LZ is clean. We're dropping the goods. Continue with the fire support, over."

"Roger that, Echo 5. We'll take out the mother ship's triple-A; over."

Mikhail and the trainers jumped off from the helicopter and hurried inside the den of the Mightyena pack through a hole caused by the recent offshore artillery strike. They searched every nook and cranny along their way for May. Thirty minutes later, they were beginning to think that she had been taken away prior to the attack.

"Any luck, you guys?" Ash asked his friends as soon as they met up at a corridor intersection.

"We've looked everywhere. There's no sign of May or the Genesis leader." Mikhail replied.

"Dawn and I didn't find her on our side." Brock answered.

"Where could she be?"

"Don't lose hope just yet, Ash. We've only searched a quarter of the ship. Let's keep looking."

They went from the right wing onto the left wing in search for their kidnapped friend; clearing every room and searching the trickiest of nooks and crannies along the way. The battle was still raging on outside with shells pounding the airbase relentlessly and angels dancing thousands of feet above the tree line. The more Terry thought about his cousin in danger; the more his skills as an ace pilot was compromised. He needed to go down there but he knew that he had his own battle to fight.

"Don't fail me now, you guys." Terry said; looking down on the grounded mother ship. "May…I hope you're safe."

---0---

"This is the only door we haven't checked." Mikhail said; standing in front of a large red door with gold plating on the sides. "May and the Genesis leader must be inside. Take out your best Pokemon that you have right now. We're going for the direct approach."

"This is it. The final push…" Ash said; taking out a Pokeball. "Let's go."

"We got your back, Ash. Bust the door open." Dawn said; taking out a Pokeball as well.

Mikhail held the door handles as the trainers took out a Pokeball each. Their hearts began beating faster than usual. They were nervous…but they weren't going down without a fight.

"On the count of three…" Mikhail said. "One…two…THREE…!"

Mikhail immediately twisted the handle and opened the door. They were finally in the leader's den.


	23. Scenario 22

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 22 ---0---0---**

"This is Latios Command to anti-air cruiser Dahlia." Admiral Hayden said over the radio. "Give me a SITREP."

"This is cruiser Dahlia. Strike Team Seviper has infiltrated the enemy mother ship. Strike Team Arcanine is still engaging enemy units in the combat airspace."

"We'll take over your forward position. Return to the harbor and set up a defensive perimeter just in case they decide to come our way."

"Roger that, Latios Command; we're setting a course for Gracemeria City right now."

The three ships tasked of overseeing the battle above the airbase turned away and sailed back to the city for added protection. Now, the admiral was part of the action as he ordered the rest of the planes on the ship to prepare for sortie to support the battle. With the city liberated and Mikhail's party inside the heart of the den, it was a one-sided battle in favor of the good guys.

At the bridge, Admiral Hayden noticed his good friend Professor Rowan leaving his side…and it wasn't because he could stand the sight of destruction happening right in front of him.

"Where are you going, Rowan?" The admiral asked him.

"I'm going to finish what I've started." Professor Rowan replied without turning his back.

"Come on; Mikhail and the others will get your man."

"This is personal, John. This is personal."

---0---

"Ash…!" May was extremely happy to see her knight in shining armor to the rescue. Her clothes were a complete mess thanks to the lashes done by the Tentacruel but she was still drawing breath…right before her beloved.

"May…!" Ash replied then suddenly expressed disgust in his face. "Yeesh…! You're a total wreck!"

"It's not my fault that sixty tentacles wanted to lash me to death." (**A/N: **Each Tentacruel has 80 tentacles but not all of them were used in lashing May; 320 of those are a death sentence).

"And I thought Dawn's bad hair day is worse."

"When I get out of these ropes I'll beat you up real good, Ash Ketchum!"

"Save it after we finish our business here."

"Seriously, is that how you treat a damsel in distress?"

Mikhail's party was surrounded by four Tentacruel; particularly the leader's Pokemon—the same ones who delivered a series of lashes onto the hostage a few hours ago. It was clear that the only way out was a four-on-four Pokemon battle. It was four highly-trained Tentacruel against Dawn's Mamoswine, Ash's Staravia, Brock's Forretress, and Mikhail's Umbreon. However, Mikhail's sharp vision spotted something wrong with the Tentacruel.

"Something's not right." He muttered.

"What's not right?" Dawn asked in reply.

"These Tentacruel…they're not acting like normal. It's as if they were fed with drugs by their trainer."

"Huh? They seem pretty normal to me. Come on, we've got to break through. Mamoswine, let's start off with a nice Take Down attack!"

Dawn's twin tusk Pokemon didn't think twice about attacking since it was practically itching for a good battle. It charged towards the Tentacruel formation without even stopping for a catch of breath of fresh air. All of a sudden, the Tentacruel glowed while standing their ground and repelled Mamoswine's Take Down easily. The entire party, including their Pokemon, was pinned down by an unable-to-battle Mamoswine.

"Dawn, get your Mamoswine off our backs!" Ash yelled.

"Mamoswine, return…!" Dawn recalled her Pokemon and stood back up. "Did they just use Counter?"

"That wasn't a Counter attack." Mikhail said. "Your Mamoswine's Take Down attack was right on the mark and was too strong to even be countered."

"Then what is it? It seemed like Counter to me."

"Unless…"

"Yeah, these Pokemon were fed with illegal drugs. I should've known."

"Illegal drugs…?"

"Oh no, you don't mean the kind of drugs that raise a Pokemon's stats while sacrificing health?"

"Those are the ones. The leader must have fed these Tentacruel with T-23s. No wonder these Tentacruel are not behaving like they use to."

"Dawn, you know about those things?"

"I watch the news every single day."

---0---

"I hope my pets are keeping you entertained." The Genesis leader laughed from the comforts of his throne. "Enjoy it as much as you can. It will be your last."

Mikhail ordered his Umbreon to jump out of the formation and attack the Tentacruel from their backsides. Umbreon launched a Quick Attack on the unbreakable Tentacruel formation. Its speed matched with power was more than enough to break the formation. Unfortunately, the same glow repelled the Quick Attack and Umbreon was tossed across the room like a discarded glove. The Pokemon was rendered unable to battle.

"Umbreon…!" Mikhail cried. "Damn it!"

"Staravia, use Gust at full power!" Ash instructed his Pokemon to fly as high as the ceiling and flap its wings as hard as it can. He instantly knew that direct attacks were useless so he thought of breaking the Tentacruel blockade by blowing the Tentacruel away until a gap can be seen.

"Ash, I think its working."

"Staravia, keep up the Gust attack."

Brock decided to use the confusion to make his move with his Forretress. "I'll use this chance to make a gap. Forretress, use Rapid Spin on the nearest Tentacruel!"

Brock's Forretress withdrew its cannon nozzles inside and closed itself in its shell before spinning at more than a hundred rpm. While the Tentacruel were distracted, Forretress hit the Tentacruel nearest to it. It knocked the target down without any opposition; creating a gap in the formation.

"We can get out through there!" Mikhail said. "Go, go, go…!"

"Staravia, go after May and cut those ropes!" Ash said to his Pokemon.

"Forretress, leave some spikes on the Tentacruel!" Brock ordered his Pokemon as well.

Staravia stopped flapping its wings and went for the prize while Forretress used Spike Cannon to make it hard for the Tentacruel to catch up. But the Tentacruel were so smart; they took the initiative of charging up for a Hyper Beam attack while looking for their targets. The Hyper Beam attacks were fired; two of them hitting Staravia out of the air and putting Forretress out of commission. While Ash and Brock recalled their Pokemon, they realized that two Hyper Beam attacks were zeroed on one target: an unsuspecting Dawn.

"Dawn, look out!" Ash yelled at his blue-haired friend.

Ash tried going after his friend who just realized that two bright shiny lights were coming right at her. But it was too late.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH…!" Dawn was blown off by the explosion and hit her back hard on the wall. She fell unconscious afterwards.

"Dawn, NO…!" Ash and May cried in unison.


	24. Scenario 23

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 23 ---0---0---**

When the smoke had cleared, a severely injured and unconscious Dawn was on the floor. The others were completely shaken to see one of their friends in a deep coma.

"You good for nothing…" Mikhail said. "Only lowlifes like you would hurt a Pokemon trainer with a Pokemon attack!"

Ash rushed towards Dawn; hoping that he would get something out of the unconscious trainer like a sign of life. May saw him come to Dawn's aid and felt a sense of sadness in her heart. She looked away for the meantime while still tied up to the ropes. May knew that it wasn't right to think like that but she couldn't help it. Tears filled up her eyes when she wasn't supposed to cry.

"Ash, leave Dawn to me. You go after May." Brock volunteered to stay behind the action.

"Well…okay…be careful." Ash, although having doubts, hurried towards May…only to be swept away again by tentacles from one of the Tentacruel who escaped the spike field.

The young trainer rolled across the room to the other side. His back hit the wall but that didn't stop him at all. He got back up and went for May a second time; even if it meant outwitting the Tentacruel standing by. But the thing about him is most of the time he doesn't look first before leaping. As a result of his reckless dash against the jellyfish Pokemon, he got thrown off a second time by a smack of the tentacle.

"Ash, it's no use! You can't contest with a Pokemon on drugs!" Mikhail warned the trainer.

"But I have to do something." Ash replied. "If nothing's going to work, then what will?"

"Enough of these foolish games…!" The leader finally spoke. "Tentacruel, find your targets and use Hyper Beam at will!"

The rest of the Tentacruel who had been caught in the spike field quickly scuttled away and prepared to use Hyper Beam while looking for targets to hit on: particularly Ash and Mikhail who were still standing. The beam was fired and both of them got caught in separate explosions just like Dawn.

"Pokemon Rangers…what a pathetic bunch…" The arrogant leader spoke.

"Why…why are you doing this?" Ash said; critically injured.

"Nature's beauty is being destroyed because of the likes of you. That's why!"

"Nature…? Being destroyed…? Who are you to blame us for that?"

---0---

(Genesis leader's POV in normal text; _flashbacks are italicized_)

In the past, I was once a humble Pokemon researcher who cared for the mysterious creatures and their beloved home: the environment. I worked hard to let the public know about the importance of the environment to both humans and Pokemon. I even have my own TV show to let the whole world know about it. But I never got the respect I deserved; nor did they heed my word very seriously, treating every bit of info I gave the public as a complete prank.

_"What do you mean you're shutting down my program? I demand an explanation!" The humble professor yelled during a telephone call. _

_"Your TV show is not picking up as much ratings as the cut-off prescribed, sir. It's damaging the profits of the station so they decided to remove it from circulation and replace it with a higher-rating TV program."_

_"This is madness! Are you saying that the public would rather waste their time on entertainment rather than the environment?"_

_The professor never got a proper reply. Instead the person on the other handset hung up on him rudely. _

_"Hello? Hello!"_

The naïve masses would rather watch something entertaining and interesting on TV rather than listen to my lessons and lectures on protecting nature. Whenever I see that cruel truth around me, it sickens me to the bone.

I tried running into politics; hoping that I would win the masses over and eventually take control of policies regarding environmental protection. Miraculously, I won a seat in the Johto Regional Congress based in the city of Alto Mare. There, I introduced a bill as a response to the ever growing deforestation in the region that will benefit both the humans and the Pokemon living in the forested areas. But it was only a waste of time.

_"We can't possibly pass that bill of yours." The speaker of the house said. "It may benefit both parties but it will only devastate the income of industries based in the region."_

_"I've also taken that into account when I created the bill." He replied. "We can always survey the land if it is unfit for agricultural purposes or not."_

_"You're still a neophyte so you still don't understand how things run here. All projects proposed here are funded by these industries. Without these industries, there can never be any projects."_

_"The bill doesn't say that the industries should be denied of property. It's an effort to save the environment."_

_"Save from what? Carnivorous Pokemon…?"_

Everyone in the house laughed at me and my proposed bill. I objected that they were going to benefit from this bill but the laughter just got louder. I felt disrespected for no reason; tossed aside like an old glove in the trash bin. That's when things got out of hand. Upon going home, I saw my house and my backyard being disassembled by construction workers.

_"What's going on? What are you doing to my house?!" _

_"Orders from the mayor, sir…" One of the workers approached him; showing a piece of paper containing authority to do such an action. "You failed to pay your property tax for the past few months. We're bringing it down."_

_"You can't bring it down! A lot of Pokemon are in the backyard!"_

_"They will be relocated to a breeding center where they will be taken care of."_

That was when my eyes finally opened to the inconvenient truth. The world was a harsh place full of indecent and idiotic people. I lost everything since that very moment: my program, my seat, and now my very home. I vowed to take revenge on those who have no sympathy for the environment. For that, I formed this organization called "Genesis"…and we will start here in Gracemeria. A new and better world shall be born out of the ashes of war.

Let's see who gets the last laugh now.

(End of POV)


	25. Scenario 24

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 24 ---0---0---**

"You're taking revenge on the world just for that! You're just insane!" Brock cried while tending to Dawn's wounds.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." The arrogant leader replied; sneering at the breeder.

"Don't blame everyone on your failure. Not everybody is like what you say—"

"Silence…! Tentacruel, our tied-up guest is asking for more. Give it to her."

"NO!"

The Tentacruel surrounded May once more and delivered another volley of painful strokes against the heavily-battered brunette coordinator. Her open wounds just made the lashes even more painful compared to the previous batches which meant her agonizing scream was twice as loud.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH…!"

"May…!" Brock cried. "Stop that at once! She has nothing to do with all of this!"

"B-Brock…I…I…" May was finally starting to fall apart. "AAAAAAAHHHH…!"

"Darn it! Why can't I do anything?"

"Brock, you have…to get out…ah…of here!"

"We're not leaving without you, May! That's who we came for!"

"Just…get…out…AAAAAAHHHH…!"

"May…!"

Having known her ultimate fate, the battered brunette coordinator mustered what's left of her strength and forced it out in one last message.

"ASH, PLEASE DON'T GO! AAAAAAAHHHHH…!"

Unexpectedly, there was a huge explosion that popped the main doors open. Smoke quickly filled up the room as the Tentacruel stopped lashing May because they couldn't see a thing in the thick smoke. A voice emanated from the doorstep; ordering a Pokemon to attack.

"Manectric, use Shock Wave!"

A horrifying surge of electricity went out across the room. The Tentacruel were hit dead on the mark and fainted immediately. Brock took cover and dragged Dawn behind a fallen concrete slab as a shield from the electric attack. Ash and Mikhail were lying down flat on the ground and didn't get hit while May was dangling several feet in the air. When the smoke cleared and the last Tentacruel was withdrawn back to the leader's Pokeball, a certain bearded man in a lab overcoat appeared behind the smoke. Ash and Mikhail finally gained consciousness afterwards and saw the bearded man by what was once the front door.

"Professor Rowan?" Ash said in curiosity. "With a Manectric…?"

"Manectric, use Quick Attack and followed by Bite on those ropes!" Professor Rowan said.

The discharge Pokemon leapt from where it stood and dashed across the room towards the hostage. Upon getting close to the ropes, Manectric's fangs popped open and bit the three ropes suspended to the ceiling. A battered May fell down to the ground. Ash quickly came to her aid but could do nothing to tend to her wounds.

---0---

"So we meet again, Rowan." The leader said. "The most pathetic excuse for a Pokemon Ranger I've ever battled."

"Cut the trash talk, mister." Professor Rowan replied. "This ends now!"

"What do you intend to do to me, Rowan? Hide behind your research lab like you always do…?"

"I'm going to do what I should have done ages ago. I'm going to put you under arrest for your destructive crimes. You're not going to cause any more harm after I'm done with you."

Suddenly, the Genesis leader pulled out something out of his pocket. It looked like a small remote with a button on it.

"You don't have the guts to take me down." The leader threatened all of them. "You come closer to me and I'll blow this plane up sky high."

But Professor Rowan, a shrewd man, only smirked and confidently said: "Bring it on."

"Professor Rowan…!" May cried. "He's going to do it!"

The leader was challenged and forced to press the button. Everybody ducked and took cover to brace for impact. But several seconds later, they didn't hear any explosion. He tried pressing the button several times but to no avail—there was no explosion whatsoever.

"What did you think caused your systems to shut down, huh?" The professor smirked. "We just launched a blackout warhead against your engine and electrical systems. Your plane is grounded for good, not-so-almighty Genesis leader."

"C-Curse you, Rowan…!" The leader attempted a getaway; running past the professor and heading for the open door to freedom.

"You're not going anywhere!" May sent out a Pokeball despite her injuries. "Glaceon, use Ice Beam on the passageway!"

Glaceon froze the passageway solid with its Ice Beam attack; giving the fugitive practically no way out. His Tentacruel were too hurt to even execute an attack against the ice block. He was trapped like a Rattata cornered by its predators against a wall.

"It's over." The professor said. "Just come peacefully."

"I'd rather die here than to live in a cruel world inhabited by greed!" The fugitive replied.

"You think that the world is cruel? No, you're cruel to the world. That's why."

"Cruel to the world…? I spent my entire life devoted to Pokemon and nature but all my efforts were in vain. How can I be cruel to the world? Tell me, Rowan!"

"Simple: you told the world that it'll never change for the better by giving up so easily."

The Genesis leader now reduced to nothing more but a captured fugitive, never contested against Professor Rowan anymore. Suddenly, Mikhail received a radio call from his walkie-talkie attached to his wrist. Latios Command was on the line.

"This is Seviper Team." Mikhail said. "Go ahead, Latios Command."

"Lieutenant Katarin, get your team out of there ASAP!" Admiral Hayden replied loudly. "The blast from the missile has created a volatile chemical reaction with the fuel. The rear portion of the mother ship is already on fire."

"We won't be able to make it on time if we take the route back to the LZ. We need you to blast a hole in our current location in Kilo two-niner."

"We'll spot the target with Echo 5. Latios Command, out."

---0---

"This is Echo 5. Kilo two-niner has been spotted. Relaying the coordinates to Latios Command…" One of the helicopters relayed the information back to the flagship.

"Target coordinates received. All vessels open fire!" Admiral Hayden said.

_**"AWACS to all planes: designated strike coordinates at Kilo two-niner. Strike the designated target immediately. Lieutenant Katarin and his team need to be extracted ASAP."**_

"This is Arcanine 1; moving into attack formation." Terry said; flying low with his wingmen to strike at the spot. "All planes, punch the target with everything you've got!"

The joint effort of naval and air power paid off after a portion of the walls of the throne room collapsed and a hole was made.

"We can get out of that hole! Go, go, go…!" Mikhail yelled.


	26. Scenario 25 END

**---0---0--- SCENARIO 25 ---0---0---**

A week later after the battle for Gracemeria…

_**"Ladies and gentleman, the Pokemon Contest Committee is proud to present the winner of the Gracemeria City Pokemon Contest with the King's Ribbon; one of the highest honors in the region. Here she is again, our winner: Ms. May Maple. Let's give her a round of applause!"**_

The sound of a thousand people applauding filled the contest stadium. Colorful confetti were falling everywhere on the contest stage. The pleasant sound of cheers echoed across the stadium as the winner of the Pokemon Contest humbly accepted a well-decorated ribbon with a golden crown at the center of the knot and fine silk comprising the ribbon itself. The brunette coordinator proudly showed the ribbon before the audience and her supporters.

_**"And as an added bonus, the flyboys have a surprise for Ms. Maple. If you'll just look at the sky…"**_

The contest stadium dome opened up above them. Sunlight shone on the ground as the dome opened. Eventually, a picturesque view of the clear blue sky became the roof of the stadium. A formation of eight planes was heading towards the stadium led by the Sapphire May piloted by her cousin Terry.

"This is Sapphire 1." Terry said. "Let's show my cousin down there a really great air show."

"This is Sapphire 2. Lead the way, Captain Maple." Mikhail replied. "I'm glad that she won the contest. She's got some mad skills."

"That's my cousin alright, Captain Katarin."

Colored smoke smoked out of the planes as they flew as low as possible for the clearest view. After passing through the stadium, all the planes pulled up and broke off in different directions. The crowd's cheers got even louder than before.

"That Terry…" May giggled. "What a showoff."

---0---

Ash and friends went back to Gracemeria Air Base to meet up with Terry and Professor Rowan before leaving for the next city. They wanted to say their farewells properly so they wouldn't regret it once they're too far to turn back. A full week worth of repairs made the two huge tarmacs operational again—brand new. There were no signs of craters or scorch marks on the ground; as if a battle never happened in the airbase. Terry and Professor Rowan were standing in front of a helicopter where the latter was about to leave for Sandgem Town.

"You're leaving already, professor?" May asked.

"I have to. I don't want to keep my assistants waiting back home." Professor Rowan replied. "You can never get real help these days."

"So, I guess this is goodbye for now eh?"

"You can always visit me in Sandgem Town if you feel like it. Oh and by the way, there's another Pokemon contest in La Mesa City. It's not too far from here."

"Thanks, professor…"

"It was nice knowing you all. See you later."

The helicopter's rotors slowly picked up speed and eventually lifted the body off the tarmac. The helicopter gained altitude and flew off into the clouds floating above the big wide ocean. As soon as they lost sight of the helicopter, they all turned to Terry who had just been promoted to the rank of captain with his wingman Mikhail.

"Oh, congratulations on your promotion Terry…" May smiled to Terry for the very first time.

"Wow May, I never saw you smile since you were still a kid." Terry replied; a bit surprised.

"Well, after thinking about it I came to understand that you were right and we were wrong. You shouldn't be stopped in fulfilling your dreams, Terry."

"So…you've forgiven me?"

"Down to the bottom of my heart, Terry…and don't worry about Mom and Dad. I'll convince them to—"

"No May, I'll do it. It's my fault after all and I want to fix it myself."

"If you insist then okay…but don't go reprimanding them and stuff like that."

"Don't worry, I won't."

A few minutes later, Admiral Hayden arrived in a jeep. He seemed to be in a hurry to reach the base. But when he got there, the helicopter was gone.

"Darn it, I missed the chopper." He said.

"Admiral Hayden…?" Terry replied. "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to give something to the young lads before they leave. But I guess they already left so…"

"Sir, they're still here." Terry pointed at the young trainers beside him. "It was Professor Rowan who left in a chopper."

"Oh good heavens, I must be getting old. Thank you, Captain."

"No problem, sir."

---0---

"There's supposed to be a formal awarding ceremony for these medals." Admiral Hayden said; handing a red box to each of the Pokemon trainers. "But we're too busy rebuilding the airbase and the city so I'll have to give these to you personally: the King's Medallion of Valor—one of the highest commendations in the entire region."

"It's so shiny!" May said, excited. "It's too valuable to be displayed. I think I'll keep it in a safe place."

"I agree. I'll be needing sunglasses for this one." Dawn laughed.

"But…do we really deserve this?" Ash asked.

"You deserve it and our utmost respect, lads. If it weren't for you, then our precious home would've been lost forever."

"He's right, Ash. We all deserve it."

"So shiny…so shiny…shiny…"

"So, where are you all headed next? Maybe I can have one of my choppers give you a lift."

"Thanks for the offer but we prefer walking our way to La Mesa City."

"Aw…no chopper…? Boo…"

"We love to stay and chat but there are still badges and ribbons out there with our names on it."

"Well, if that's your decision, take care. The doors of Gracemeria will always be open for you."

Terry and the admiral offered a respectful salute to the young heroes who, in return, also did the same thing. A few seconds later, everyone eased down.

"Before I forget, send my regards to my son." Admiral Hayden said. "I haven't come home to LaRousse for quite some time now."

"Your son…?" May asked. "Who could it be?"

"Oh, I thought it was obvious. Drew Hayden…? The last time he called he's on his way to La Mesa City too."

"Oh, good grief…why didn't I notice this earlier?" The brunette coordinator put her open palm in her face.

---0---

After lunch courtesy of the admiral, they all bid goodbye to the beautiful city of Gracemeria and all its Pokemon nesting in the forests. The usual peace and liveliness of the place was returned to its proper place—in the hearts and souls of every human and Pokemon living together. On their way to the next Pokemon contest in La Mesa City, the group stopped by a nice pristine lake for a quick break. The journey to La Mesa City will take them at least three walking days non-stop. Ash and May were sitting at the lakeshore; playing a game of skipping stones while talking about some stuff.

"Ash, thanks for the rescue." May said, throwing her stone across the lake which jumped three times before sinking. "Another set of lashes and I would've been…you know…"

"You're very welcome, May." Ash replied and threw his stone across the lake but came short by a jump.

"Maybe it feels good to make a difference. I wish I could've helped out a lot."

"That's not true. If it wasn't for your Glaceon, the bad guy would've gotten away."

"I guess that's true. And thanks again…"

"For what…?"

"For staying alive…"

"Oh that? A simple explosion's not going to get the best of me."

"Yup, you're definitely my Ash."

Dawn called the attention of the two for a quick snack before leaving.

"Hey you two, Brock made some sandwiches. Let's eat them before we leave!" Dawn cried.

Ash and May stood up and walked up the slope. But about halfway to the top, May suddenly pushed Ash down the hill and into the lake for a quick cool-off. Luckily, he stopped at the shallow portion of the lake so he didn't sink like the rocks.

"Hey! What's with the big push May?" Ash said.

"Don't think I've forgotten that 'total wreck' comment of yours, Ash Ketchum." May winked.

**THE END**

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_This has been a presentation of Lightning and Sword Fan Fiction Productions. All the characters, places, events, and other materials used here in this story are being disclaimed by the production team and are property of their respective creators and licensing companies. Any occurrences stated in the story that are somewhat similar to other works created by other writers are purely coincidental and the production team has absolutely no intention of plagiarism. Under any circumstances this fan fiction should not be duplicated or modified without the consent of the production team. Failure to comply is punishable up to the fullest extent of the law. The law applies to all; otherwise none at all. _

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